Konoha's Underdog
by Lancer2147
Summary: A 8 years old Naruto is informed by his Jinchūriki status by the sandaime. He vows to become stronger so he can protect his precious people. Basically, Naruto gets serious before canon and decides to get the recognition he deserved. Smart, stronger Naruto. Naruto x small harem [ON HOLD]
1. Prologue

Disclaimer: Unfortunately I don't own Naruto

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 **Author's Note:** This is my first story, I'm not even a native English speaker, so grammatical errors can be expected. I'm writing this fic mainly as a challenge to myself, so being honest I don't know how long it'll take for me to update another chapter and I'm not even sure if I'll be able to complete this.

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Young Naruto Uzumaki, after another harsh day at the academy, where Sakura spurned him, Sasuke made fun of him and Iruka scolded him, again, made his way to his apartment. His apartment was a small one room, which made sense since he was an orphan. The kitchen was clean because Naruto almost didn't used it, he preferred making instant ramen instead of actually cooking something, not that he knew how to cook anything. His bedroom was a simple one, he had a single bed, a small TV on the top of a cabinet and a small wardrobe, filled with his orange jumpsuits, the green walls were dirtied, Naruto never cared about tidiness and also never bothered to clean the walls or paint them. With exception of the small bathroom, the entire apartment floor was made of wood. Finally, reaching his small living room, which also served as his dining room, there were, besides the desk and chairs from the dining room part, a coffee table and an old sofa where an unexpected visitor waited.

The visitor was no one other than Hiruzen Sarutobi, he, alongside with Ayame and Teuchi Ichiraku was one of the people that truly cared about Naruto. The aged man was wearing his traditional Kage outfit. Naruto upon seeing the man he considered his grandfather quickly dropped his backpack and ran towards Hiruzen, hugging him. The Hokage made an habit of checking Naruto at least once a month, he already visited him last week, so Naruto was pleasantly surprised in seeing him at his living room. The reason that made the Hokage leave his office, and his damned paperwork, was to talk with Naruto about his academy performance. Naruto already failed the academy twice, and if he were to fail again he would be expelled from the academy. While most of the children entered academy at age eight, Naruto enrolled shortly after his sixth anniversary, so age-wise he wasn't actually behind his classmates. However Naruto grades were always bottom half, he couldn't use any ninjutsu or properly mold chakra and his knowledge was abysmal to say the least. The only part of the curriculum that Naruto actually was above average were his taijutsu, where Naruto mostly exceled due to his willpower and stamina and stealth, where his pranking nature made him top three, losing only to Sasuke, the last Uchiha, and Shino Aburame, the heir to the Aburame clan. Feeling that he was failing Minato, who already had his final wish of Naruto being regarded as a hero, denied by the sheer ignorance of the villagers, Sarutobi decided to have a talk with Naruto.

"Naruto, please sit down we need to talk." The Hokage said, gesturing to the unoccupied seat beside him.

After Naruto released the hug and went to sit on the sofa, he looked at the Hokage, clearly interested in his apparition.

Clearing his throat Hiruzen looked at the sky blue eyes of Naruto. "Naruto, I'm here to talk about your grades at the academy." Seeing Naruto's expression change from interest to sadness the Hokage knew that something was truly bothering Naruto.

"I don't know what's happening jiji, I tried to study but the questions are always difficult, no matter what I do, I'm always making mistakes." Naruto said in a resignation.

"And you've paid attention to the classes?"

"Yes, but the teachers are always ignoring me, _like the rest of the village_." Naruto said, the last part of the sentence in a mumbled tone so only Hiruzen could hear.

Hiruzen felt ashamed of this, teachers who were supposed to help the students playing favorites and ignoring a student.

"Okay, I'll help you study, what was the subject of the class today?"

"The Great Ninja War."

"I see, the first the second or the third?"

Naruto looked dumbfounded at the Hokage, before shouting "WHAT? THERE WAS MORE THAN ONE?"

After looking at Naruto like he grew a second head, Hiruzen asked for him to show his academy book, already suspecting what was happening: the instructors were sabotaging Naruto. His suspicions were proven correct as he opened Naruto's book. The book was extremely old, probably from the early years of his tenure as a Hokage. Information was clearly lacking and with exception of the cover, that was replaced to the one the actualized books had, every page was yellow of age and several sentences were unreadable.

Hiruzen then patted Naruto at his head and asked him to go to his office tomorrow after class, so he would be able to help him.

After leaving Naruto's apartment, Hiruzen decided that he would hide himself in class tomorrow, so he could see firsthand what the treatment Naruto received from the instructors was.

* * *

Next day

Hiruzen made his way to the classroom after activating the _Tōton Jutsu_ (Transparent Escape Technique) that allowed him to sneak upon the class and the instructors. Remaining transparent, the Hokage confirmed his suspicions of the teachers ignoring Naruto. During the ninjutsu training the trend continued, when one of the teachers who were helping each student individually jumped Naruto, choosing to praise Sasuke for his mastery of the Kawarimi instead. By Naruto unsurprised and emotionless expression, Hiruzen realized that this happened more than once. Finally at the taijutsu practice, Hiruzen noted that the taijutsu instructor was intentionally teaching Naruto a sloppy and ineffective taijutsu instance that allowed him to quickly be pommeled by Sasuke at the final spar, much to the fangirls and the instructors delight. The unique highlight of his visit was seeing that Iruka Umino, one of the academy teachers, who lost his parents during the Kyubi attack, helped Naruto at the shuriken practice. Seeing what he needed to see, Hiruzen retreated to his office.

The Hokage knew that Naruto would visit him soon, so he quickly formulated a plan. Instead of punishing the instructors directly, he decided to help Naruto become 'self-sufficient', so the young boy wouldn't need help from the instructors. This also applied to his normal life, if given the right guidance Naruto could easily live all by himself and well. Hiruzen, when visiting him last night noted that his apartment was dirty and that Naruto didn't feed himself properly. And finally, he could prove Danzo, who constantly nagged him about transforming Naruto at the 'ultimate weapon', and most of the villagers wrong and show through hard work and determination that Naruto wasn't the Kyubi.

Hiruzen was taken out of his thoughts when the door of his office opened, revealing Naruto. Hiruzen quickly gestured him to take a seat, which the boy promptly agreed.

"So, how are you going to help me jiji?"

"Naruto before anything I must say something important." as Naruto nodded his head, showing that he was listening, the Hokage took a deep breath before continuing "Naruto, the reason why you were falling behind your class is that the instructors were sabotaging you." seeing the boy's questioning expression, Hiruzen proceed "I watched today's class and it came to my attention that the instructors, besides giving you outdated material, were ignoring you during the lectures and ninjutsu training and intentionally taught you a botched taijutsu instance."

Naruto stared blankly at the Hokage for a few seconds, then his expression turned to sadness, then angriness and finally despair. "WHY? WHY EVERYONE HATES ME?" Naruto asked almost crying.

Now Hiruzen was at a dilemma, he could invent a history or tell the truth. He knew that Naruto probably would accept the fake history, but Sarutobi knew that if he did this he wouldn't be better than anybody else. Steeling his resolve he made a decision that would change the fate of the entire world. "Naruto what do you know about the Kyubi?"

* * *

It all made sense, 'demonspawn' , 'demon brat', 'damned fox' finally it all made sense to Naruto, he was jinchūriki of the Kyubi, the nine-tailed fox. Naruto first denied the fact, then he lost his words, then he accepted, after accepting Naruto realized: he was the Kyubi, he killed thousands of people and destroyed the village he now called home. After thirty minutes of crying Naruto looked upon the Hokage who was patiently waiting for Naruto to recompose himself.

"I'm sorry for everything I did jiji." Naruto stated before getting up from his chair and running towards the door. But he was stopped when he crashed against the arms of the Hokage who quickly stood between Naruto and the door and engulfed him in a hug.

After some more sobbing, Naruto asked "Why don't you hate me jiji?"

The Hokage gave the jinchūriki a smile before getting up. He quickly withdrew a scroll from one of the bookshelves and laid it on the table. After this he drew a kunai and put it alongside the scroll. "What do you see there?" he asked pointing to the items.

"A scroll and a kunai." Naruto responded

"Very good, they are different aren't they?" he asked, getting a nod from Naruto. "Now" he continued, quickly sealing the kunai into the scroll "what do you see?"

"You sealed the kunai inside the scroll." Naruto stated

"Very good Naruto, but tell me, just because there's a kunai sealed inside it, the scroll will stop being a scroll?" seeing Naruto shake his head negatively, Sarutobi continued. "Naruto, you're the scroll, the Kyubi is the kunai, you won't stop being Naruto just because the Kyubi is inside you."

Naruto nodded his head, showing that he understood. But then he frowned "Jiji, if things are like you said why the rest of the village hates me?"

"Well, they're blinded by the fear, most of them also didn't know about the quality of the seal, so they think that you are actually the Kyubi."

The young blonde and the aged Hokage kept talking for a few hours. Naruto learnt more about his seal and the Hokage assured that the Kyubi wouldn't take over as long as he controlled his emotions. Naruto also learnt that the Yondaime wished him to be viewed as a hero, but blind hatred made him into a scapegoat. Finally the Sandaime explained about his law that prevented the adults about telling the kids about the Kyubi, so the children would see him as Naruto and not the Kyubi, and how it backfired as the kids mirrored their parents' behavior towards Naruto.

By the time the two finally finished discussing the Kyubi topic, it was already night and the Hokage offered to treat Naruto some ramen from Ichiraku's.

* * *

At the Ichiraku's

Naruto and Hiruzen made their way to the Ichiraku's, Naruto's favorite ramen stand. Even though Naruto loved ramen, his affection to the Ichiraku's was because here he was treated like family. Whilst the most expensive restaurants and even some stores refused to sell anything to Naruto, Teuchi and Ayame always treated him well. After placing their orders, which made Hiruzen frighten a little bit because of the sheer amount of ramen Naruto ordered, they continued their conversation.

"Naruto, I'm going to ask a very serious question and I'd like you to answer honestly as possible."

This got Naruto's attention, as he perked up and looked at the Hokage expectantly.

"Do you hate Konoha for everything you've been through?"

Naruto made a contemplative pose, putting his hand on his chin before replying.

"No, but I don't hate Konoha, but I maybe hate the villagers." sighing and taking a deep breath the blonde continued "after what you said to me earlier I understand why they could fear me but I didn't do anything to make their assumptions true."

"Naruto since you were young you claimed you wanted to be Hokage, is this still something you still want?"

"Honestly I think it's not even possible for me to become Hokage anymore, I'd never get the villagers support, you told me earlier that the big clans don't hate me, but I don't think that it's possible for me to be elected for Hokage without the civilians backing right?"

"If I died without stating who I wanted to succeed me, yes. But if I decided to back down from the post and with some backing it would still be possible to select someone without the civilians support as long as I have the shinobi council backing."

"I see, but answering your question whilst being Hokage still has a shine for me I don't feel like setting this as a goal anymore."

"Anymore? So you have a new goal?" Hiruzen asked looking at Naruto with a raised eyebrow.

"Sort of. Now I'd like to become stronger so I can protect you, old man Teuchi and Ayame-neechan."

Gracing a smile Hiruzen complimented the blonde "A noble goal indeed."

The duo kept eating in silence, as Hiruzen finished his Pork ramen, Naruto was already on his way to his seventh bowl of the day. Fearing for Konoha's economic situation due to the massive drain caused by Naruto and his ramen addiction, Sarutobi decided to speak again.

"Naruto, what we're going to do about the academy? You want me to 'talk' with the teachers?" Sarutobi asked, stressing the _talk_ word. Naruto, while still acted dumb knew this talk would be very painful for the instructor. Even though he wanted to see those dumbasses put in their places Naruto dismissed the idea.

"I see…" Sarutobi mused after Naruto's dismissal of his idea." You're willing to let them go freely after what they did to you?" the Hokage asked raising an eyebrow.

"I never said that, I guess some hard pranking is in order, and you're going to help me." Naruto replied with some real hardcore grin that sent some shivers down Sarutobi's spine.

 _"_ _Oh Kami, I think I've created a monster."_

* * *

 **I already have some plot ideas, but I'm always open to suggestions, so feel free to message me with ideas for this story.**


	2. Fox vs Tiger

Disclaimer: I don't own Naruto.

* * *

Time was running low, four on his left, another four on his right, two towering from above. Naruto had to act, quickly. Drawing four shurikens from his weapon pouch Naruto hit the two targets on the left, one on the right and one above. Time was a factor.

 _"Time to get extra flashy."_

Jumping backwards in a black flip motion, Naruto withdrew two kunais from his holster strapped on his right leg, hitting the final target above and another one on his right. Before reaching the ground Naruto fired two shurikens upfront, without any clear target, whereas the remaining targets stood on the edge of his peripheral vision. Pulling a wire with his left pinky finger altering the trajectory of one of the weapons so it would head right. Then, jerking his head left, Naruto revealed another wire, this one pulled by his teeth, this wire, attached to the other shuriken changed the projectile path to the right. In his final movement before landing on the ground, Naruto controlled the 'pinky shuriken' to collide with the 'teeth shuriken'. As the weapons collided, Naruto let go of the wires, effectively sending a shuriken towards his left whilst the other one headed towards his right. Gracefully landing on his feet, Naruto contemplated his work: ten targets, ten perfect shots.

"Very good, Naruto. Ten out of ten." came the voice of Iruka Umino. Standing with 5'8", with olive skin, black eyes and brown hair styled in a ponytail, his most distinguishing feature being the scar that crossed his nose bridge. This man was one of the precious people Naruto gained in the last four years. Naruto and Iruka had an rough start, as the jinchūriki often pranked the instructor. However after his talk with the Sandaime four years ago, Naruto came to realize that he and Iruka were very alike, they were both orphans and craved attention. One day after class ended, Iruka asked to talk with Naruto: that was the day he gained an older brother.

 **Flashback start**

Three months after his talk with the Hokage, Naruto found himself in another extremely boring lecture from Iruka. He was sleeping alongside Chouji Akimichi and Shikamaru Nara as he didn't saw any point in paying attention to this class. After some time Iruka noticed the slacking trio and went to scold them about paying attention to the lectures. Chouji and Shikamaru didn't seemed bothered by Iruka's scolding, but Naruto was extremely angry because in the past he in fact paid attention to the class but never learnt anything due to the instructor's constantly sabotaging his progress.

Naruto decided that payback was in order. Instead of pranking, he decided to show Iruka, and everyone in class that he didn't needed them. So, during the day Naruto would constantly answer all the questions Iruka posed to the class, during taijutsu spathe blond haired boy made short work of every opponent, including Kiba Inuzuka, owner of one of the best taijutsu grades in the class, before surrendering against Sakura under the reasoning of being tired, a blatant lie. As Naruto kept answering all the questions and beating every opponent, he would constantly glare at Iruka and Mizuki, as if saying that he didn't need their help.

Whilst both Mizuki; the most stuck up student of the class, namely one Sasuke Uchiha; and by extension the rest of the class, thought Naruto was cheating, Iruka was pleasantly surprised. He always came out as a rigid teacher, but unlike the other academy instructors he never despised Naruto because of the Kyubi, he saw Naruto as a normal kid, like the rest of the village should. The only reason Iruka kept a stern, non-friendly façade was because he saw much of his younger self in Naruto, and therefore wanted to make sure that the boy didn't made the same mistakes as him.

After class ended, Naruto was asked to stay and talk with Iruka. The teacher handed him a paper, with a math problem.

"Naruto, if you answer this problem right, I will never bother you during class again."

Reading the problem, Naruto saw that it in fact was a hard question, but not an impossible one by any means. So after fifteen minutes, Naruto handed Iruka the paper back with his answer. Iruka knew that Naruto was holding back in classes, a fact that went unnoticed by the rest of the academy staff and even the students, so he purposefully gave Naruto a genin graduation test question. Knowing that Naruto never paid attention to the classes he knew he wouldn't suspect anything. As he saw the question, he knew that if Naruto wanted he could easily be top three in class, but he didn't wanted this because of something.

"Very good, Naruto" as the said boy then turned back and made his way towards the door, Iruka said something that definitively got his attention "what about going to Ichiraku's? My treat."

 **Flashback end**

After this, Naruto and Iruka became extremely close. Naruto never became top three in class, staying in the middle of the pack, but only because he didn't wanted it. Iruka managed to gain the boy trust and they became brothers in all but blood. Iruka learnt about Naruto's rough start at the academy, and saw that the 'slacker Naruto' only existed because said boy didn't wanted any of the instructors to claim that they helped him achieve anything. As Naruto respect to Iruka grew, he even started paying attention to Iruka's lectures, leaving the sleeping to the other teacher's classes.

* * *

"Now Naruto, all you need to do to pass the exam is to perform a Henge, a Kawarimi and a Bunshin,"

The boy nodded, before performing a Kawarimi, substituting himself with a practice doll.

"Excellent, now a Henge."

Performing the seals, Naruto transformed himself into Anko Mitarashi, the snake mistress of Konoha, wearing a more revealing than the usual outfit if that was possible, basically an almost naked Anko, only with some extremely small pieces of fabric covering their most private areas.

The effect was instant; Iruka went from a serious academy teacher to a pervert in 0.003 milliseconds, being propelled backwards by a giant nosebleed, before losing conscience upon hitting a wall.

Fifteen minutes later Iruka regained consciousness.

"B-Baka, what was that about?"

"Ha, I always knew you were a closet pervert, this is my Sexy no Jutsu."

"What king of ninja does something like that?" Iruka said, before bonking Naruto in the head.

"Someday this will defeat even the Hokage, dattebayo." Naruto replied, causing Iruka to sweatdrop.

"Anyway, now you need to do a Bunshin so you could pass."

In the exterior Naruto was looking calm and collected but deep inside he was freaking out. The Bunshin no Jutsu was always his weakest technique because of his abnormal chakra pool.

 _"I need to do this, I can't fail Konohamaru and Ebisu-hentai."_

 **Flashback start**

After his payback at the academy teachers in an elaborate prank that consisted on having Anko Mitarashi to invite the before mentioned teachers to a four-way date with the ice-queens of Konoha, paint, slingshot hits at very sensible places and horse-weight laxatives, Naruto was back into the Hokage office.

"Yo, wanted to see me jiji?"

"Yes, we need to talk what we are going to do about your studies. I've been thinking on firing them or at least giving them an ultimatum about their responsibilities as teachers. Should they don't comply with my orders I pan on firing them and stripping their shinobi ranks."

"Thanks jiji, knowing you care for me like this means a lot to me, but…" Naruto replied, adopting a more cautious tone "…I don't think it'll work." seeing the Sandaime's questioning expression, the blond continued. "The teachers hate me, but they are good at what they do, all I need to prove myself is to know that they aren't sabotaging me. Also if you fire them it'll take some time to find replacements and it'll prejudice the rest of the students."

 _"Eight years old and already putting the other's needs before his own."_

"I see…" then Hiruzen light up a grin he only displayed when he managed to outmaneuver Danzo, the elders and the civilians during council meeting. "… then I have an idea. You'll have full access to the Sarutobi compound library, as well as the Hokage estate library, use it to find reliable information concerning your studies."

Naruto frowned a bit, whilst he was the hardworking type of guy, he disliked reading, but he couldn't let his Hokage down. He was interrupted of his thoughts when he heard the slight tired, yet firm voice of the Hokage.

"But we still need to make up for your lost time in your skills training. Satoko (his secretary), please summon Ebisu here."

 **Flashback End**

Ebisu was a tokubetsu jonin specialized in training, he like mostly of the village despised Naruto, but being picked by the Hokage, he saw in this assignment the perfect opportunity to prove his worth to the Hokage. Naruto trained under him for three years, two and a half of those years were purely focused on chakra control, which Ebisu defined as: "backbone of all good shinobi". With the half of the year left, Ebisu taught Naruto in basic nature transformation, whilst Naruto was ecstatic that he possessed a wind nature affinity that favored him during combat, he was saddened by the fact that nobody in Konoha was able to use it, which made learning it impossible. Hiruzen informed that his son, Asuma was a wind type user, but he left six years ago to join the Twelve Guardian Ninja of the daimyo of the Land of Fire and was yet to return to Konoha. Ebisu then decided to train Naruto in fire release nature transformation. Due to his affinity with fire being extremely higher, mainly because of the Kyubi's chakra, and his now high chakra control, Naruto was able to learn three C-ranked Katon jutsu: _Katon: Endan_ (Fire Release: Flame Bullet), _Katon: Gōkakyū no Jutsu_ (Fire Release: Great Fireball Technique) and _Katon: Hōsenka no Jutsu_ (Fire Release: Phoenix Sage Fire Technique). His skill level in fire release jutsu was already at low-chunin level, when compared to Sasuke Uchiha, 'the last Uchiha', as the civilians said in awe, or the 'emo avenger' and 'duckbutt hair' as Naruto and Kiba referred to him, Naruto was at the same level, if not above him.

Ebisu's hard work with Naruto also paid profit to the teacher, that was hired by Hiruzen as a tutor to his grandchild, Konohamaru. As a final gift, Ebisu gave Naruto a scroll with the _Katon: Karyūdan_ (Fire Release: Fire Dragon Bullet) a B-rank jutsu, that Naruto was yet to perfect, and declared that he was proud to be able to teach him. After these three years Naruto's opinion of Ebisu highly changed, putting the teacher onto his precious people list.

As he was taught by Ebisu and was constantly around the Hokage Tower, Naruto was able to befriend Konohamaru Sarutobi, the grandson of the Sandaime. Despite Konohamaru's brattish attitude, Naruto took a liking to the boy, considering him as a younger brother of sorts. Naruto was the first one to recognize Konohamaru as something other than the 'honorable grandson' and would during free time, help Ebisu with his training. He also lectured the boy about the hard work needed to him become the Hokage, stating that "there were no shortcuts to becoming Hokage".

* * *

"Naruto are you okay?" came the concerned voice of Iruka

"Yeah, why?"

"Well, you were spacing out staring at the empty for 10 minutes."

"Sorry, was having a flashback moment." Naruto replied rubbing the back of his neck

"I'm still waiting for the Bunshin…"

"Roger that."

Clearing his mind, Naruto made the required handsigns, summoning five bunshins.

Iruka looked at the clones before smiling to the boy.

"Close your eyes."

"Why?"

"Just close it."

"Okay."

When he opened his eyes again, he found Iruka without his Hitai-ate, touching his own forehead he felt the steel and the Konoha leaf symbol, before realizing.

"Congratulations on graduating Naruto, you're now a shinobi of Konohagakure no Sato."

Tears welled up in Naruto's eyes as he remembered of all his struggles during his lifetime, now he finally did it.

"Thanks Iruka-sensei."

The duo was then interrupted when a purple-haired ANBU woman, wearing a cat mask appeared before them.

"Iruka Umino, Naruto Uzumaki, your presence is requested by the Hokage."

* * *

"Congratulations on graduating Naruto, you truly deserved it." the Hokage said, with a hint of pride of his surrogate grandson achievement.

"Thanks Hokage-sama, it means a lot to me."

During his four years of studies, Naruto was able to read a book or two about etiquette, realizing that his affective way to refer to the Hokage was somewhat disrespectful; he decided to use the proper honorifics while at public. He never stopped seeing the Hokage as a grandfather figure, but decided that he could change his attitude to be a bit more professional. Still, in private he always called him his jiji.

"Well, you're all business then. Now, do you have any idea why I called you here so promptly?"

"No, but I assume it has something to do about me taking the graduation exams a day before the class."

"Yes, In fact it has. As Hokage of Konohagakure no Sato I assign you a B-rank mission."

"B-rank? Weren't those supposed to be taken only by chunin or above? Not that I'm refusing the mission though. "

"In fact, usually during peace only chunin or above are allowed to complete B-ranks, however this mission in particular requires you to undertake it. There were some reports of an enemy spy working inside the academy, I suspect about some few teachers, but I can't take any actions yet. Yesterday we've received a report that this spy is plotting to steal the Scroll of Seals, that contains kinjutsu and was sealed by the Shodaime Hokage himself. We suspect that the spy will probably attempt to enlist one the help of one of the students that failed the test. Considering your stealth prowess and background we believe that if you somehow fail the exam you'll be the prime option of the spy."

"So, I need to fail the exam…but I'm still a genin right?"

"Yes, the reason you graduated a day earlier in secrecy was that you could finally be assigned this mission. I assure you that even if you fail you'll still be placed on a genin team."

"I don't plan on failing though." Naruto replied with a smirk

"And I don't think you will." the Hokage said, also smirking. Naruto, even as a genin was one of his most trusted shinobi, in fact he planned on revealing the truth of his parentage as soon as Jiraya set his foot on Konoha.

"So, what are my orders?"

"You'll botch you own graduation test to be approached by the spy. After that you'll use a decoy scroll and inform the ANBU about your meeting point. Like a said earlier, this is a B-rank like a said earlier, considering there'll probably be a fight and you'll likely be targeted by the enemy. Thus you'll also will be required to assist the ANBU in the spy capture should they require, but I don't think they will. After that come to my office, I'll give you a graduation present.

* * *

Things were going as planned for Naruto, he decided to purposefully arrive five hours late to the exam.

* * *

Somewhere a silver haired cyclops, reading an orange smut book sneezed.

 _"I have a feeling that finally someone decided to follow my way of life"_

* * *

This was of course planned, as he didn't want to raise any kind of suspicion amongst the graduates. He was approached by the spy, who turned out to be Mizuki, as planned. After retrieving the decoy scroll at the Hokage's office, he meet with the ANBU assigned to the capture of Mizuki, the purple haired girl with the cat mask of yesterday, who introduced herself as Neko.

The plan was simple, after Naruto handed the scroll to Mizuki, Neko would neutralize him. Should she was unable to instantly restrain him, Naruto would act as support, not engaging Mizuki directly.

* * *

Naruto was sitting at the rendezvous point, the clearing of a forest outside of Konoha waiting for Mizuki. He made sure to observe all the surroundings, to be able to plan something should Neko's plan went wrong.

After waiting for five minutes Mizuki finally showed up. Standing atop of a tree branch, whilst Naruto sat at the ground, under another tree.

"Hey Mizuki sensei, I got the scroll, can I get my headband now?" Naruto asked, pretending to be enthusiastic.

"Sorry, but no." Mizuki said with an evil glare "Now, die." he said throwing a Fuma Shuriken towards Naruto.

Naruto quickly rolled towards his right, avoiding the lethal strike, just in time to see Neko leaping from a higher branch, using her sword to strike down Mizuki, who barely managed to avoid a hit.

"You okay kid?" Neko asked

"Yeah, now let's capture the teme."

"No, I'll capture him, you'll stand down, I don't want to risk you by putting you head to head against a chunin."

If someone said that to Naruto four years ago, he would stubbornly refuse to stand down. However after four years of studying and in his first mission as a genin, Naruto followed suit, hoping to accomplish the mission, impress his superior and hopefully get another B-ranked mission.

While not engaging in combat Naruto was observing the fight carefully, trying to get the most intel as possible on the enemy. It was clear that Neko was more skilled than Mizuki, she used her kenjutsu to put Mizuki on a defensive stance. Mizuki instead was adept at shuriken jutsu as Naruto noted due to the Fuma Shuriken he carried attached to his back and the large number of regular shuriken he carried in his weapon pouch. Being a long range fighter, he was constantly attempting to get distance with Neko. Naruto also noted that Fuma shuriken could also be used as a bladed weapon on his folded state, while not versatile enough, it provided a good defense against Neko's katana. Naruto hated Mizuki, but he must recognize his intelligence in the use of the Fuma shuriken, as it gave him the much needed defense against short-range fighters like Neko.

" _Mikazuki no Mai_ (Dance of the Crescent Moon)." Neko leapt forward, creating afterimages of speed, thus making the impression that she was attacking Mizuki from above and both his sides.

Mizuki used his folded Fuma shuriken to block the strike from above and in a slicing motion, he managed to also block the strike from his left. Using his spare hand he managed to block the right strike.

" _Using his blade to block two attacks from different directions at once, impressive."_ Naruto thought.

He was brought out of his musings as Neko appeared in front of Mizuki, who now had his guard opened, in an impressive display of speed, thrusting here katana towards Mizuki's chest in a jabbing motion.

As Naruto and Neko thought the fight was over, Mizuki seconds before being hit, channeled chakra into a tiger tattoo on his chest, making it glow from under his chunin vest.

The next second, Mizuki's muscles underwent an impressive growth, ripping his shirt. The most bizarre thing is that he started growing a fur above his waist, becoming a hybrid of human and a tiger. The fur covered his entire torso, neck and face. Whilst maintaining his pale blue hair, he developed tiger ears. The unique areas that didn't spotted muscular growth were his legs. Neko managed to piece him with her katana, but the large muscle mass prevented any real damage and created resistance, making Neko unable to withdraw her sword from the enemy's chest.

 _"What the hell?"_ Was the collective thought of Naruto and Neko.

"NOW I'M GOING TO KILL BOTH OF YOU." Mizuki yelled in a animalistic roar. Drawing the sword from his chest and throwing it aside.

From this point ahead the fight changed tides quickly. Mizuki became a close range fighter and Neko, who couldn't retrieve her katana in time, went on the defensive, avoiding Mizuki's strikes. The game of cat and mouse lasted for about five minutes. Naruto stood sideways watching the fight development, it was clear that Neko wouldn't be able to handle the onslaught for much longer. As in a clue, Mizuki launched a punch as Neko leapt backwards in order to avoid the strike, but Mizuki used his other arm to land a hit on the ANBU, on her left leg. Judging by the cracking sound, it was clear that Neko's leg was broken, effectively taking her out of the fight.

Now Naruto had a choice: by observing Mizuki's behavior, it was clear that this transformation tired him. His reactions weren't sharp as they were in the beginning. Now he could retreat taking Neko, but risking a failed mission as Mizuki would have more than enough time to retreat. Or he could fight. Hopefully lasting longer enough to get reinforcements, but risking both his and Neko's lives. Also failing his first mission, even if it's a B-rank would be bad for his record and could in the future get in his way when getting missions. Naruto shivered for a second thinking of the infamous D-rank missions he would have to complete to get in the Hokage's good graces again. Also allowing a spy to leave Konoha with extensive information would be , quoting Shikamaru, troublesome. As stated before, there were two choices: stay and fight, risking his partner life; or flee, saving Neko but giving the spy who possessed intel on the village to leave. Fortunately Naruto was known for thinking outside the box, and came with a third plan.

Leaping onto action he fired a super charged _Katon: Gōkakyū no Jutsu,_ towards Mizuki, who surprised by Naruto's prowess in the Katon, stood dumbfounded, getting hit by the jutsu. His muscular frame and fur shielded him from any fatal damage, but it still hurts like hell. Roaring he looked around and saw that both Naruto and Neko were gone.

Naruto used the jutsu as distraction, so he could retrieve Neko. He rested her under the trunk of a tree, using the shadows in the forest to hide her. Then he made his way towards Mizuki, much to the ANBU agent protests.

Mizuki was retreating towards the border with the Rice Country, where he was supposed to meet with his master. However he stopped in his tracks when he heard the voice of the guy he hated the most.

"Where do you think you're going?"

"Naruto…" the traitor growled.

Adopting a serious tone Naruto glanced towards Mizuki, before speaking again.

"Before we start I'd to say a thing and then make you a question. I wanted to say that you're an amazing teacher and I, as the Kyubi really shouldn't be allowed to learn alongside geniuses like Sasuke Uchiha, still under different circumstances I'd be delighted to learn under you."

Seeing Mizuki's amused expression Naruto knew that if he couldn't make it as a ninja he really should get a try on the acting career.

 _"Damn, I'm a good actor. I might even be able to star alongside Yukie Fujikaze in one of those Princess Gale movies."_

"Now for the question." Naruto said adopting an even more serious tone "the tiger is your father or your mother?"

"What?" Mizuki asked taken back by the blonde's question

"What I'm asking is…" Naruto said using hand gestures to emphasize his point "a tiger fucked your mother or your father fucked a tigress?"

The forest was silent for five seconds that you could even hear the breathing of the various beings that inhabited the forest as Mizuki looked towards Naruto. Obviously this silence was bound to end soon…

"I'LL KILL YOU DEMON BRAT. I'LL GUT YOU ALIVE." Mizuki said leaping towards Naruto, starting the hunt.

Naruto, due to his background as a prankster and his training under Ebisu, was able to escape Mizuki with relative ease. For the next thirty minutes, using stealth, his fire jutsu and some weapons alongside some explosive tags and flashbangs, Naruto outmaneuvered Mizuki, hopefully buying Neko's time to escape and tiring Mizuki out. As he dashed between the trees, he noticed a shiny object on the ground: Neko's katana.

 _"Why not?"_ he asked himself picking up the sword from the ground. The katana was single edged, and had a red and brown hilt, with some golden yellow details on the handle.

Five minutes later, he faced a panting Mizuki in a clearing nearby where he left Neko.

 _"Even my strongest fire jutsu wasn't able to cause him any damage because of his fur and muscles. However, if things were going as planned reinforcements should be coming soon. Still… I need to fight him right now so he wouldn't suspect anything. It's a good thing I picked that katana up."_

Naruto formulated a strategy that consisted on dodging Mizuki's strikes whilst using the katana to prevent him from getting much closer. After reevaluating his opponent, Naruto decided it was safe to adopt a more offensive instance. Whilst never receiving any kind of training in kenjutsu, Naruto was a kinesthetic learner, and during his brief spar with Mizuki, he was able to learn the basics of the katana. The fact that he was genuinely interested in learning kenjutsu in the future was another plus.

* * *

Unknown to him Neko didn't retreated, she refused to leave a genin alone to fight a chunin. Unfortunately Mizuki's punch broke her calf, so she was in no condition of fighting but should Naruto fall, she would be able to hold him long enough for him to retreat. She looked at the blonde boy holding her katana and frowned, academy students weren't taught kenjutsu in Konoha as opposed to villages like Kiri and Kumo, so obviously the boy shouldn't be able to wield the sword properly. Noticing his grip she realized that the boy didn't used the Konoha kenjutsu stance, but he appeared to be comfortable enough. As the fight progressed she was pleased to see that Naruto wasn't the hot headed idiot type who leapt forwards without thinking. He properly took his time, and used the katana as a defensive weapon to prevent the enemy to close distance.

 _"Interesting use of an offensive weapon to create defense, the boy is intelligent."_

Neko, frowned as she saw the boy adopting a more offensive instance, and hoped he wasn't getting overconfident. During the next five minutes Neko's already growing opinion of the boy increased even more, as he was able to keep attacking, tiring the opponent out and not allowing him any kind of chance to counter attack.

* * *

Naruto kept attacking and tiring out Mizuki, he even managed to get a few cuts on his legs and torso, but mostly importantly he stalled the enemy.

Why he did that? To get reinforcements, of course. How he knew there were reinforcements coming? It was his plan all along.

As he dodged another furious strike of Mizuki, who was on his last legs, he felt two chakra signatures approaching.

Whilst not receiving training in sensoring, Naruto had a natural talent for this particular ability. When younger he sensed people by his Kyubi improved hearing, nowadays he was able to sense chakra signatures meditating , but being focused on the fight he still was able to sense someone coming, but he didn't knew their strength.

The reinforcements were in fact ANBU, who using a restraining technique quickly subdued Mizuki, getting him unconscious. At the same time Neko appeared.

 _"She was there all this time? I really need to pick up my sensing abilities."_

* * *

Her ANBU mask prevented her from showing any emotions, but if Naruto could guess, he would say it was anger, as he expressly refused to follow one of her direct orders, engaging the enemy. The mission was successful, but he refused to follow orders anyway. He just hoped he could still get at least C-ranked missions after that.

"You refused to follow my orders."

"Yes, I did, I'm sorry about that, but we couldn't allow the spy to flee with important information on our village."

"Still, you didn't follow my orders."

"Neko-san, I'm sorry, I made a decision on the spot thinking on the best of the village whilst trying to prevent any unnecessary causalities. Still, I know I broke the rules and I know there'll be consequences."

"No there won't be any consequences." Neko said coldly, flaring killing intent and Naruto somehow felt his shinobi career was in danger.

However suddenly the KI vanished and judging by Neko's body language, she was happy?

"I also made several mistakes on this mission. I presumed you were just a bratty academy student and never bothered to learn about your techniques, thus being unable on developing any good strategy should the enemy resist. I over relied on my kenjutsu, which made an opening that allowed the opponent to attack me, jeopardizing the mission. Also I never really scouted the area, assuming it would be a simple snack & grab mission, unlike you who used the environment in your favor. If someone should be apologizing it would be me."

"So I'm not in trouble?"

"In contrary, I believe the Hokage will be pleasantly surprised with your performance today."

Noticing that he still held the katana on his right hand, he bowed and offered the katana to Neko, holding the hilt and the edge of the sword with open hands. Naruto remembered that katana were usually wielded by samurai, and he read that this was the manner they handled their weapons.

"I believe this is yours Neko-san."

Taken back by the young boy knowledge of the bushido, she bowed accepting her sword.

"You've put quite a display fighting Mizuki, I didn't knew that the academy started teaching kenjutsu again, even though I don't recognize this style as being the Konoha kenjutsu."

"It's because it wasn't. The academy doesn't offer any kenjutsu training. I tried to wield the katana with the best of my abilities even though I never received any formal education in kenjutsu, I just hope my display wasn't an eyesore for a practiced kenjutsu user like you."

"Wait you're saying you never properly trained kenjutsu? How is that possible?"

"I'm what people call a kinesthetic learner. It came to me pretty easily actually." Naruto said shrugging." But I believe that my interest in kenjutsu helped me as well."

Neko was dumbfounded, this kid could put up a fight, wielding a weapon he didn't had any familiarity with and was able to create his own style, even with some noticeable flaws. IN THIRTY FIVE MINUTES.

" _I have to tell Hayate-kun about this kid, he was looking for an apprentice for years."_

"Naruto-san" came the voice of one of the other ANBU operatives, who wore an ox mask, the Hokage requested your presence in his office ASAP. Go, we'll take care of Neko-senpai and the traitor."

* * *

Hiruzen was slightly preoccupied, he was able to use the crystal ball to see the mission progress, and promptly sent ANBU to help Naruto and Neko during the mission. Mizuki had this strange transformation that he suspected it was work of Orochimaru. If that was indeed true it meant that things would get even more complicated. However what concerned the most was that he wasn't able to witness the rest of the fight. The _Tōmegane no Jutsu (_ Telescope Technique _)_ had a time limit, that ticked down just as Naruto questioned the paternity of Mizuki.

His fears however were put to the ground as the door to his office opened, revealing Naruto.

"Mission accomplished Hokage-sama."

* * *

A lone figure reached the gates of Konoha after seven years. Seven years ago he made a life changing decision leaving his home. For seven years he questioned his decision, thinking of what could have been. In seven years he attained glory and became a proven shinobi, but deep inside he felt empty, because in leaving he hurt the person who he loved most in the world. She still remembered him? She hated him for what he did? She was dating someone? Yes, yes and no, his, um, 'informant' kept him updated.

The tall man wore a black coat, with brown details, with black pants and clack shinobi boots. He carried himself with an air of confidence, but deep in his eyes you could see regret. A cloak covered his head, making his features unrecognized. Upon reaching the gate he glanced at the two figures performing duty: Kotetsu Hagane and Izumo Kamizuki, the Eternal Chunins of the Guard Duty.

He waved to them, before removing his cloak, making his face visible.

Izumo and Kotetsu were in another boring day at guard duty, their day however became more eventful as they noticed the approaching figure removing his cloak.

"It is really him? I has been a long time since he left."

"It is he. Things will become a lot more interesting from now on."

* * *

 **Author notes: I hate to end with a cliffhanger, but I'm tired and ... tired. Next chapter will treat Naruto's relationship with the rookie nine and his assignment to a genin team. I'm always open to suggestions.**


	3. Team 10

**Author's Note:** Chapter 3 here, I'm quite happy with the progress of the story, this chapter was actually fun to write, I've really enjoyed writing the few humor moments, I just hope I haven't overdid it.

About a pairing question I've received: Ino will be in the harem, NaruIno is one of my favorite pairings. I'm not sure about Hinata, I actually tried to develop here having a more sister-like relationship with Naruto. So, maybe, but if there's NaruHina it'll be around the Shippuden timeline. Like I said it'll be a small harem, I'm wanting to have five or six girls at max. I've already decided about three of them, so I'm still open to suggestions.

I plan on making the Asuma-Kurenai relationship different from canon as you can see, but I assure you that if I finish this story they'll definitively end together.

So, I hope you have as much fun reading this chapter as I had writing it.

* * *

Disclaimer: I don't own Naruto.

* * *

"So, you decided that it was a good idea to engage a chunin level shinobi, who managed to defeat one of my best ANBU operatives just one day after you graduated from the academy?"

"Yup."

"Even when this chunin probably used a kinjutsu to enhance his physical abilities?"

"Yup"

"Damnit Naruto could you please stop replying every question I have with a 'yup'?"

"Yup….wait…no?"

"This isn't a joke, have things played differently and the ANBU haven't arrived at time you could've died." Hiruzen ranted, in the verge of yelling

"Well, I knew they would be coming." Naruto replied with a grin.

"Stop messing around, I'm being serious."

"So am I." seeing the Hokage's doubts about his previous statement, Naruto elaborated: "remember when I fired the first fireball to distract Mizuki and save Neko?" getting a nod from the Hokage, the genin continued "I supercharged that attack with half of my chakra, so the ANBU stationed in the village perimeter could easily sense the attack and head towards our direction. I never planned on taking Mizuki down, I just kept stalling him to give the ANBU enough time to reach the scene."

Hiruzen was dumbfounded, Naruto having just left the academy already developed a chunin-like line of though. However he wasn't totally convinced yet.

"You knew the scroll was a decoy one, so why risk getting into a fight? Perhaps you were trying to show service to get more high-ranked missions?"

"I'll be honest and say that in fact this went through my mind, however it was far from being the reason I enacted a new plan instead of withdrawing and risking losing Mizuki." Using his hand to enumerate his points, he continued: "Reason number one: Letting a spy flee the village is always bad for the image of the village, and could in the future translate into more hostile spy actions. Reason number two: Mizuki was the academy teacher of a class full of clan heirs, including the famed Hyuuga and the Uchiha clans, considering our village relies a lot on its clans, I assumed that by stopping him I could prevent sensitive information from getting into the hands of the enemies. Third reason: Since he was captured alive the T&I department can get information of his reasonings and hopefully his employer. Fourth reason: I hate Mizuki."

Hiruzen now had to fight the urge to promote Naruto to chunin at the spot. The kid embodied the will of fire, putting the village security and his comrades ahead of his own life. He was still reckless, but this kind of attitude demanded encouragement, not reprimands.

"Well, I'm speechless. Not only you completed a mission that turned out to be a A-rank since it concerned secretive village affairs but also managed to analyze the scenario you were in, decide the best plan of action and develop, and perform, a successful strategy at the spot."

"Thanks Hokage-sama, being praised by you means a lot to me."

"No need to formalities now, we're alone." Picking a envelope on his drawer and handling it to Naruto, he continued his speech. "This is the reward for your first mission, like I stated earlier due to the capture of an enemy and the facts I mentioned before, it turned out to be a A-rank."

Opening the envelope, Naruto heart skipped a bit: 150,000 ryō.

 _( AN: I am using the conversion rate that 1 dollar is equivalent to 10 ryō, so Naruto received about 15,000 dollars for this mission.) _

Seeing the genin eyes shine with the amount of money, Hiruzen chuckled.

"Don't go spending all your money on ramen. Also, remember to go to the academy next week for the genin teams assignments. Until then you're dismissed."

As soon as Naruto left his office, Hiruzen reached for his hidden drawer, where his faithful companion in the battle against the paperwork rested.

"Time for some reading _"_ the Sandaime said to himself, giggling perversely.

His quality time was quickly interrupted when a ANBU appeared in the room.

"Hokage-sama, Asuma Sarutobi has returned to the village."

* * *

What Hiruzen though would be a quiet uneventful night, quickly snowballed, into a sleepless night for the aged Hokage. First Naruto managed to complete his A-rank, capturing a spy that could be working for Orochimaru. Then his son, Asuma, came back to Konoha and is requesting an audience with him about being reintegrated into the shinobi program. Also he had to create the genin teams of a graduating class full of clan heirs, what was never an easy task, considering both the civilian and the shinobi councils tended to butt in, the latter one being in a most considerate, less demanding manner. Finally Neko, one of his most trusted ANBU, asked to a private audience with him alongside her boyfriend, Hayate, why? He had no idea. But before worrying about Neko, he had to meet his son.

Asuma and Hiruzen never really agreed about anything, Hiruzen knew that his younger son never wanted to be seen just as the Hokage's son. Hiruzen's wife, Biwako, was the peacemaker, both men were extremely strong, but they were smart enough to learn to never get on the bad side of a woman. When Biwako passed out, their relationship deteriorated badly, Asuma felt alone and Hiruzen buried himself into his work as Hokage. Finally, on a fateful day seven years ago, Asuma had a serious discussion with his then girlfriend, Kurenai Yuhi, and they ended breaking up. Alone, Asuma decided that he needed a change of air and decided to accept the daimyo offer to join the Twelve Guardian Ninja. During those seven years they only exchanged letter thrice: when Konohamaru was born, when Asuma attained a bounty of 35,000,000 ryō and Hiruzen wrote to him, counseling some security measures and finally when he decided that Kurenai should be promoted to jonin and asked Asuma, in condition on being her ex-teammate. But now father and son stood in front of each other after all these years. Hiruzen noted that gone was the teen that left years ago, now he was a man. Asuma was still relatively young, 27 years old, but carried himself with the air of a veteran, the Sandaime's son was noticeably stronger than he left. One thing that remained the same was his smoking habits, usually parents tended to discourage those kinds of habits, but being a shinobi meant your life would be on line each and every time, so dying at his mid-forties was already better than dying in his mid-twenties, like Minato and Tobirama, two of the strongest shinobi Konoha had to offer and that died nevertheless.

"So, you're back…"

"Yes I am, father…"

Both men spoke in neutral, baring emotionless tones, but even when they were on speaking terms they behaved like this. Asuma, unlike his elder brother and his nephew, never was the kind of people to let himself be overtaken by feelings. So sitting on an office, making small talk or playing shogi, was the way they had to connect.

"How was the capital?"

The father son duo proceeded to make small talk for thirty minutes, with Hiruzen being careful to not mention Kurenai or children in any moment of the conversation. However, this meeting was bound to change pace quickly, when Asuma noticed the stack of academy papers in his desk.

"You're building the teams, aren't those supposed to be built automatically?"

"Usually yes, but this year has been particularly different. This graduating class has the heirs to the Akimichi, Aburame, Nara, Hyuuga, Inuzuka and Yamanaka clans; a promising girl from the Haruno civilian clan; the last of the Uchiha and finally Naruto Uzumaki."

"That's why I don't want your job." Asuma said chuckling.

"Humph, this isn't even the worst part, the civilian council kept bothering me about assigning the Uchiha to a one man squad, so 'others wouldn't hinder his growth', the shinobi council keeps asking me about the sensei and the jonin themselves keep asking for certain additions to their teams."

"Who are the jonin anyway?"

" _Shit"_

"Well, you see… Kakashi… and…err…she."

"She?" Asuma asked narrowing his eyes.

"K-K-Kur…"

"Kurenai?" Asuma asked interrupting his stuttering father

"Yes."

Asuma just smiled.

"She's on the path of a fine kunoichi."

"Yes, she's one of our best, 'The Genjutsu Mistress of Konoha'." Hiruzen said, causing Asuma to smile even more.

"Returning to the team assignments topic, what were the requests?"

"The civilian council alongside the elders wanted to Sasuke Uchiha to be placed on an individual team under Kakashi, I promptly refused the one man cell idea, but I'm assigning him to Kakashi considering Kakashi himself asked for him. The shinobi council is worried about the jonin instructors getting on the way of their children's training, the Hyuuga mainly. Kurenai decided to ask for an all kunoichi team, so she could beat the fangirl out of the Yamanaka and the Haruno whilst helping the Hyuuga to develop confidence. Kakashi asked for both Sasuke and Naruto, whilst Danzo requests him to be trained as a weapon and the civilian council requests his execution."

"Though break, do you have any team ready yet?"

"Only the InoShikaCho. I already have Sasuke under team Kakashi, but I don't want Naruto on his team."

"Why? Just because he's a jinchūriki?"

"No, because right now he's the best genin I've had since Itachi Uchiha." Sarutobi explained causing Asuma's eyes to widen.

"If he's put on a team with the Uchiha he'll probably beat Sasuke, what will cause some problems ahead pertaining the council. Also the council will pretty much demand Kakashi to focus on the Uchiha, and even if that wasn't the case Kakashi isn't the best suited teacher for Naruto."

"Why is that?"

"Because Naruto uses wind affinity, the single one Kakashi wasn't able to master."

"A wind user? Like me? In Konoha? How is that possible?" Asuma suddenly became a lot more interested in this year's class.

"How do you think affinities are gained?"

"Usually genetically, but besides me there was no other wind user other than the Yond…" the Asuma eyes widened, he looked at his father, who just nodded, then he looked onto the Yondaime portrait that was hung in the wall and cursed his stupidity for not realizing before.

"Well I guess that explains why Kakashi wanted him."

"Yes, but I know Kakashi isn't the best teacher for him. If I assigned him to team Kakashi I fear we'll be losing a Kage level prospect to get a jonin level one."

"Is he that good?"

"Yes, today he completed his first mission, an A-ranked mission. He mainly uses fire release because of the lack of a wind release teacher in Konoha. He already has jonin level chakra reserves, has chunin level ninjutsu, an above average taijutsu, and compensates his lack of talent in genjutsu through complex, yet effective strategies. His IQ is estimated in about 150, that whilst not Nara high, is high nonetheless. The most impressive thing is his mindset, he always thinks of what is the best for the village and is able to analyze the development of a fight on the run. Besides that he developed chakra sensing abilities."

"So, basically a hybrid of me, Kakashi, Shikaku Nara and Inoichi Yamanaka with an almost endless chakra pool?" getting a nod from his father he just shrugged "Well, count me in. I heard that the jonin that trains the future Kage of Konoha usually gets some good reputation."

"Asuma…" the Sandaime said before grinning "this is perfect, with you as a sensei I can balance the squads. Thank you, son."

"No problem, dad." Asuma said smiling.

"But I must inform you that Yugao Uzuki, one of Kurenai's best friends is coming here right now, so I strongly advise you to flee if you don't want Kurenai to know you're back."

Asuma's cool façade quickly changed into a terrified one.

"Yeah, that's my clue, see you later dad." Asuma said, jumping from the window.

" _I don't know why, but my son reminded me of a certain someone."_

* * *

Somewhere in a hot spring in the Land of the Hot Water, a toad sage doing his 'research' sneezed, revealing his position, and ended up being beaten up by a horde of angry females.

* * *

Naruto woke up with a sound of a knock on his door, walking around his small apartment, he quickly changed into a plain black t-shirt and a white cargo short combo, which he wore during the last four years at the academy. Looking at his Hitai-ate he became undecided whether he should wear it as a headband or as an armband. Thinking his hair usually tended to fall on his forehead, he decided to go for the headband.

Opening the door, he saw an tiger masked ANBU male, wearing full ANBU apparel.

"Hokage-sama asked you to go to his office, right now." the ANBU said, before disappearing in a Shunshin.

" _Gotta learn how to do that."_

After walking to the Hokage Tower, he entered the office, where he was received by the Hokage and two other persons: a purple haired girl with straight waist-length hair with brown eyes and pale face and a man with a tired aspect, evidenced by the bags under his eyes, with fair skin and short brown hair. The couple wore standard Konoha flak jacket, the uniform for chunin rank or above shinobi. The noticeable fact is that the two of them had katanas, a rare sight in Konoha, where kenjutsu wasn't taught, unlike other villages like Kumo, Kiri and even Iwa by lesser extent.

"Hello, Hokage-sama, Neko-san, Neko's boyfriend-san."

"Wait, how do you knew who I was, I never showed my face, and how do you know that Hayate-kun was my boyfriend?"

"Answering your first question: the katana you have strapped on your back is similar to the one you used yesterday, the handle seemed custom made, what eliminates the possibility of it being mass produced and I kinda sensed your chakra signature."

"Wow, I didn't know you were a sensor too, but how did you discover that Hayate-kun was my boyfriend?"

"You were holding hands…"

Quickly detaching their hands, the couple looked to the Hokage that was clearing his throat.

"Naruto, I called you here for two reasons, the first one is that I forgot to give you your graduation process." the Sandaime said, taking a scroll from a drawer and handling it to Naruto. "This scroll contains the Kage Bunshin no Jutsu, a jutsu that was into the scroll that Mizuki intended to steal. This jutsu is labelled as a kinjutsu due to the high chakra usage, but considering your abnormal chakra reserves I don't think you'll have any problems in using it effectively.' Hiruzen explained.

"Now, for the second topic: Naruto those behind you are Yugaō Uzuki, whom you met as a Neko during last night and her boyfriend, Hayate Gekkō, the best swordsman of Konoha. It came to Yugaō's attention that you were quite skilled in kenjutsu even though you haven't received any formal instruction in that matter. Therefore, they are offering to teach you in the Konoha-Ryū kenjutsu. What do you think?"

"For real?" he said turning to the couple, who smiled and nodded to him "I'd love to."

"*cough* Hokage-sama informed us that you were given a one week rest until you're assigned to your genin team, so I'd like to teach you *cough* during the afternoons of this week. After that I'll assign a training program that will make you able to*cough* train alone. *cough* After two months you'll have a spar with me and Yugaō-chan here." Hayate explained.

"Now let's get to work." Yugaō completed.

* * *

Two days before the genin team assignment

After another hellish training session under Yugaō and Hayate, Naruto was making his way home. His kenjutsu improved greatly during training, but still was a work in progress. Yugaō also was considerate enough to give Naruto some pointers in the usage of his sensory skills, but they were nowhere near effective, as Naruto could only sense signatures in a five hundred meters radius and could only distinguish those signatures into a hundred meters radius. Considering even genin were able to cut this five hundred meters in less than one minute, and he could only sense their chakra in less than ten seconds before the attack, it would leave him defenseless, as he would only have this tiny time window to evaluate the opponent chakra and decide he would be able fight back or retreat.

The couple decided to give Naruto tomorrow as a day off, so he could rest for the big day. Naruto then decided to visit Ichiraku's to grab some ramen, he was too tired to even think of making his own meal. After he learnt about the Kyubi and decided to put more effort in becoming a shinobi, Naruto, after some persuasion from Ebisu and the Hokage, decided to cut off ramen, adopting a more balanced diet. However ramen was still his personal favorite and he stopped by at the Ichiraku's at least once a week.

After ordering two servings of miso ramen and another two of pork ramen, Naruto noticed that Ayame, who was serving him since Teuchi already went home, was somewhat different.

"Hey Ayame-neechan, something troubling you?" Naruto asked honestly concerned

"No, everything's fine." Ayame responded, faking a smile.

" _She could at least put some effort onto lying then."_

"Ayame, I consider you as my sister, to me you are family, so please tell me what's wrong. I may be able to help."

"Sorry Naruto, this is my problem, I don't want to bug you."

"Ayame, whenever I had a bad day at the academy you were there to cheer me up, even if I can't help you it'll be good to let it off."

"Okay, remember that I started going to go to cooking school to become a nutritionist? as Naruto nodded, expressing his attention, the girl continued "Well, we've been having some difficult months here, and not only I'll not be able to continue studying but father might even close the restaurant."

"Okay, how much money do you need?"

"Naruto, I'm talking about serious money here, you won't be able to afford to help, I appreciate your intentions but it's time to let go."

"Ayame please, how much do you need to help the restaurant and complete your studies?"

"25,000 ryō to school, 50,000 ryō to restaurant, total: 75,000 ryō." Ayame replied, sighing

"No problem, I can afford that." Naruto replied nonchalantly, causing Ayame eyes to jump of their sockets.

"How did you get so much money? Please tell me you aren't selling drugs."

"WHAT? No, I'm a shinobi." Naruto said proudly pointing to his headband. "I completed a mission and received 150,000 ryō. I don't mind paying to help you."

"Still, you need to talk to dad before we accept."

"Okay, about your studies… I can loan you give you the money as a gift, I only want two things from you."

"Naruto, no matter how much you pay, I won't have sex with you." Ayame said narrowing her eyes.

"WHAAAAT?" Naruto said blushing

"You asked me to do two things for you, probably sex, or a blowjob." The brunette replied, causing Naruto's blush to achieve a blood red tone, and a small nose bleed to appear.

"NOOO!I never said that, why everyone in Konoha is a pervert? Heck, you're like my older sister, geez."

"Usually when a man offers money to a girl, asking for a 'favor' he usually means sex." Ayame replied

"Well, I'm not like most men."

"So you're one of those happy guys? Ayame interrupted Naruto. As the genin failed to understand the meaning of her words, she continued "You know, a man, who likes other men."

"NO! You're confounding me with Sasuke-teme, I'm straight." Deciding to finish business before Ayame mentioned sex again, he continued. " The two things I wanted to ask you are for you to help me with a diet for free and to go shopping with me tomorrow."

"Shopping?" Ayame said, her eyes suddenly twinkling.

"Yes, I decided to change my style now that I'm a shinobi, I figured out I could use a girl opinion."

"Well, Naruto Uzumaki you got yourself a deal."

* * *

The assignment day

Naruto woke up late. Why? He learnt in the hard way that when you get into a situation where girl and shopping exist in the same sentence, you must leave everything behind and run. Run like your life depended on it. Run like Orochimaru wanted to become butt buddies with you. Run like an Uchiha when you see Tobirama. Run like an Iwa shinobi when you see the Yellow Flash. Run like a Nara when you see work (Just kidding, Naras don't run, it's too troublesome.). Well you get the point. Naruto spent twelve hours with Ayame. What started to simple get together and go to Higarashi's Weapons turned out to be a visit to the hairdresser, then a visit to several female clothing stores, then a visit to the Ichiraku's house to discuss how Naruto could help old man Teuchi, and finally an expensive dinner at one of those overpriced restaurants.

" _Should have asked Yugaō-san for help instead."_

Twelve hours later and 110,000 ryō short Naruto couldn't help but feel drained. He was happy to reach an agreement with old man Teuchi, he ended up buying 25% of the ramen stand with his 100,000 ryō, effectively making him a co-owner of the place. The other 10,000 ryō were used buying clothes, weapons , getting a new haircut, buying Ayame a dress (he was still trying to figure out how she convinced him to do that, must have been the Puppy Eyes no Jutsu) and paying for dinner. Naruto was happy with his choice of clothes, they were somewhat cool, but still durable and light, so he could move freely. He also replenished his weapons stock and placed an order for a custom made katana, that would be ready in a month time. Naruto considered his haircut somewhat cooler than his previous one, but still was practical, the main reason he opted to modify his hairstyle.

Naruto now wore black shinobi sandals, with metal toecap so his toes weren't exposed to attacks from projectiles like senbon or arrows. The sandal itself was made of a more resistant type of rubber than the one used in the standard issue, providing more durability. He wore black ANBU pants, which tightened around his calves but still were loose enough for him to move without losing any speed or momentum. On his right tight, a modified kunai holster to also hold shuriken was strapped with white bands. Naruto opted for this modified version so he could quick draw shuriken as well, even though there wouldn't be too many available. Since he never really was a fan of shurikenjutsu, he decided to go for effectiveness instead of sheer number. He wore a black simple jacket, which he maintained closed, with a single orange strip running from each shoulder to the end of the sleeves. He also emboldened the Uzumaki clan insignia on the back of his shirt. Even being a full sleeve jacket, Naruto wore it with half folded sleeve running until his mid forearm. He decided to not buy an armor of kinds since he usually preferred to engage the opponents mid-range and his taijutsu instances were heavily biased towards evasion, so speed was chosen in detriment of armoring. Underneath the jacket Naruto wore a mesh t-shirt, chosen to give some extra protection. Naruto's new hairstyle was a slightly shorter variation of his previous one, which he wore as a side-swept haircut. He decided for this option since the Ayame, and even himself by a lesser extent considered to be kind of ugly. By side seeping it he could prevent his bangs from falling onto his eyes, even if somehow he lost his headband. Finally Naruto resolved his Hitai-ate dilemma by wearing it as a headband. This choice was that wearing it as a headband instead of a armband not only he could get a protection in his forehead but also his arms movement wouldn't be slightly restrained by the armband form. He changed the clothing from blue to black, to be more undetectable at night.

Quite happy with his new look, Naruto made his way towards the classroom, hoping to not be late. Upon entering the classroom, he realized that he wasn't late, but his new wardrobe attracted some people's attention. Choji Akimichi, Shikamaru Nara and Kiba Inuzuka, his closest friends, looked at him quizzically before stopping as Naruto gave them a 'we'll talk later look.'. Sasuke Uchiha quickly glanced towards him, probably expecting to see Iruka, after he realized that it was just Naruto he went back to brood in his own world. However Sasuke action wasn't unnoticed by his closest two fangirls, Sakura Haruno and Ino Yamanaka. Both girls turned out to see the 'new' Naruto and both lightly blushed

" _Oh kami, Naruto looks hot."_ the blonde fangirl though

" _Is that Naruto? He's handsome…no perish this blasphemous thoughts, I like Sasuke, Sasuke, not Naruto."_ the pinkette though.

" _ **CHA! What a glorious piece of meat."**_ Inner Sakura added

Finally on the corner of the room Hinata Hyuuga was trying her hardest to not faint, but as Naruto made eye contact with her those efforts went to waste, as she passed out.

Naruto wanted to seat near his friends, however there was just one available seat, on the end of the class. Making his way towards the seat, Naruto was thankful that he went shopping, judging by the blushes of the girls in his class, it seemed that his new wardrobe caused quite the impression. Taking his seat Naruto realized that he could see the entire class from his spot. Choji, Kiba and Shikamaru were sitting together, the first one was eating, as usual, the second one was playing with Akamaru, as usual and finally the last one was sleeping, yep nothing new as far he was concerned.

Those three were his only friends with his age. Naruto and the trio became closer because of their lack of interest in classes. Each one had different reasons Naruto himself wanted to make clear that he didn't needed the teachers help and that everything he achieved, he achieved on his own, the only exception going to Iruka's classes. Choji wasn't motivated, like his best buddy, Shikamaru, and spent most of the class eating. Kiba disliked indoor classes and tended to skip a lot of classes to play outside with Akamaru. Shikamaru had zero motivation, but over two hundred in IQ, so he would take constant naps, play Shogi instead of paying attention to the lectures but still had no problems in the tests, actually Naruto was pretty sure that if Shikamaru wanted he could easily become the rookie of the year, but quoting Shikamaru himself 'it was too much troublesome'. Naruto's closest friend was Shikamaru, they would slack off together, and sometimes play Shogi, with Shikamaru actually having to make an effort to win. After befriending Shikamaru, Choji came next, the boy was nice and a loyal friend and naturally became Naruto's friend. Naruto's relationship with Kiba was a bit more complex, at the start Kiba didn't saw eye to eye with him, mainly because that when Naruto stopped being sabotaged by the teachers he quickly surpassed him, making Kiba the dead-last in class. However they would constantly skip class, and occasionally pull pranks, Kiba stopped resenting Naruto for surpassing him and decided that his grades were his own fault. Naruto even helped Kiba with school work once or twice. Due to their kinship with the dogs the Inuzuka clan was considered one of the most loyal clans on Konoha and Naruto was happy to have such a loyal friend.

On his right corner sat Shino Aburame, who was just… Shino. He was the good kind of stoic. He treated well those who treated him well and never bothered anyone. But due to his reclusive nature, a shared trait amongst his clansmen, he never really talked with Naruto on a personal level.

Naruto's attention quickly changed to the still passed out Hinata Hyuuga, the heiress to the Hyuuga, the strongest clan in Konoha. The Hyuuga were the traditionalist kind of clan, their division in main and branch houses being one of those so called traditions. Hinata was unlike the rest of the Hyuuga, which meant she didn't acted like she had a 5 foot pole shoved in her ass, actually she was kind and caring with everybody. Hinata's biggest weakness was his lack of confidence, that made her look weak to her clan, that began to criticize her and therefore making her more unconfident. Naruto, after being forcibly retired by the sex-ed class, decided to learn by studying the Icha-Icha book series. If that was his most brilliant or his stupidest idea Naruto wasn't yet sure, but the fact is that by judging by her actions towards him, Naruto came to the obvious conclusion that Hinata had a big crush on him. Naruto was first overjoyed when he learnt that a girl liked him that way, but after researching about the Hyuuga, he saw that there were no prospects of a future relationship between him and Hinata. The Hyuuga clan practiced some mild inbreeding to keep their bloodline 'clean' and there were some few documented cases of women being married off to another clans, much less this woman being the heir. Even though the prospects of a future relationship between Naruto and Hinata being almost inexistent, Naruto really cared about the heiress and hoped to help her with her confidence issues.

Next was Ino Yamanaka, one of the prettiest girls in the class, nah, one of the prettiest girls in Konoha. Naruto had a huge crush on her, but combining his newfound dedication towards shinobi training and Ino being one of Sasuke's most avid fangirls made him forcibly end his one sided crush. Unlike most of the girls in class, Ino came from a shinobi clan, actually being heir to the Yamanaka, due to that she didn't openly despised Naruto like the girls from civilian origins. They weren't friends, but due to Naruto's closeness to Choji and Shikamaru, they were on speaking terms. The only thing Naruto disliked about Ino was her fangirl attitude about Sasuke, that in his opinion hindered her growth. Deeply inside Naruto, despite his neutral attitude towards the blonde, cared a lot about her. Romantically speaking Naruto still had a bit of a crush on her, but he hid extremely well. Despite all those qualities the girl who Naruto had his biggest crush wasn't Ino, actually it was her rival/friend.

Sakura Haruno was Naruto's first crush, actually Naruto's first love. Unfortunately it was totally one-sided, and Naruto never felt the right moment to make a move on her. After undergoing a change of personality four years ago, Naruto hoped that his crush on Sakura would end. Boy, he was wrong, before seeing the world with his newfound wisdom, Naruto liked Sakura because she was pretty, she had a lovely pink hair and a cute forehead. The new Naruto saw a girl that was extremely talented, with a masterful chakra control and that managed to be the top kunoichi in class, in front of two clan heiress despite her civilian handicap. Now Naruto was truly in love. But he knew better, she liked Sasuke, her crush on the emo being even bigger than Ino's. She was a civilian, her parents probably hating him. So Naruto decided to do what he did best, mask his feelings. During four years, Naruto never spoke a single word to Sakura, hoping to someday finally stopping loving her. He felt that his love turned back into attraction, but deep inside it was still there.

Finally, Sasuke Uchiha, aka duck butt hair, aka the emo avenger, aka Sasgay. The Last Uchiha. If all the Uchihas acted like Sasuke, Naruto would pat Itachi on the back for getting rid of them. Sasuke had a superiority and a inferiority complex at the same time. He looked down at all of those who he deemed as weaker than him, but at the same time he refused to acknowledge anyone who was stronger than him as a equal. Naruto could never imagine what would be like having his entire clan wiped out by his brother, being the lone survivor. Naruto could understand the pain and the suffering from losing those close to him. What Naruto couldn't understand and would never accept that beside always being praised, noticed and sometimes even favored, the guy would continue living on his own world. Sasuke never knew what was like being forcibly alone, having no one to acknowledge you and thus decided to just act high and might and ignore people who genuinely cared about him, like Ino and Sakura. That being set aside, Naruto respected the shinobi Sasuke, who could probably give chunins a run for their money.

Naruto's thoughts were interrupted by Iruka's appearance. After long thirty minutes of speech, where Naruto decided to pull off a Shikamaru, sleeping off the speech. He woke up only to hear:

"Team Seven: Sasuke Uchiha, Sakura Haruno, Kiba Inuzuka. Team sensei is Kakashi Hatake." In the background Naruto could hear Kiba's complaints about being placed on the same team as the Uchiha and Sakura's cries of happiness, much to Ino's dismay.

"Team Eight: Shikamaru Nara, Choji Akimichi, Ino Yamanaka. Team sensei is Kurenai Yuhi." Naruto could hear more of Ino complaining about being in a team full of slackers.

"Team Nine is still active, so we jump to team Ten: Naruto Uzumaki, Shino Aburame, Hinata Hyuuga. Team sensei is Asuma Sarutobi." At this moment, Hinata, who just had woken up, passed out again after being put on a team with Naruto.

"You must wait for the teachers on the classroom." Iruka said before leaving the room.

* * *

Naruto spent the next ten minutes talking to Kiba, as Ino forcibly dragged Choji and Shikamaru to 'put up some ground rules'. He wanted to talk with his teammates, but Hinata was still passed out and Shino didn't seemed eager to any kind of social interaction.

Finally the door opened revealing a tall, olive skinned man. He was smoking a cigarette had a beard and a spiky black hair. His outfit was the standard Konoha attire, with addition of a sash with the fire kanji on his waist.

"Team 10? My name is Asuma Sarutobi and I'll be your sensei."

* * *

 **Next chapter will feature the first look at Team 10, Asuma and Kurenai reuniting and some more training.**


	4. The Decision

Disclaimer: I don't own Naruto.

There'll be a rather large Author's note at the end of the chapter talking about the pairings and story progression.

* * *

The newly formed Team 10 was walking alongside his new sensei, each jonin had the right to choose his team meeting point. Asuma opted to have the team first meeting at his favorite restaurant: Yakiniku Q, a Korean barbecue restaurant. The walk was uneventful, Shino didn't felt the need to talk about anything, Asuma was silently studying his team, and Naruto was busy carrying the still passed out Hinata. As they finally reached the restaurant Hinata finally woke up, this time Naruto making sure to not make eye contact with her so she wouldn't faint again.

The team was eagerly welcomed by the owners, who Naruto and Shino noted to be closer to Asuma. As they sat down onto the table and placed their orders, Asuma finally decided to start with the proper introductions.

"Like I said earlier, my name is Asuma Sarutobi and I'll be this team sensei, now to properly introduce yourselves I'd like to know your name, age, likes, dislikes, hobbies and dreams to the future. As the team leader I'll go first:"

"My name is Asuma Sarutobi and I'm 27 years old. My likes include barbecue, my family and a certain woman. My dislikes are people without morals. My hobbies include Shogi and sometimes reading. My dream to the future is to serve the village well and hopefully start a family. You next." He said pointing to Hinata.

"My name is Hinata Hyūga, I'm 12 years old. My likes include my family, and s-someone." Hinata said turning towards Naruto, who didn't noticed. "My dislikes are bullies and the caged bird seal. My hobbies are training and a bit of gardening. My dream to the future is to prove myself to the ones I love and hopefully abolish the caged bird seal."

" _This certain someone seems to be Naruto. I hope this doesn't interfere with the team dynamics. "_ Asuma noted

"Thanks Hinata, next." He said pointing to Shino.

"My name is Shino Aburame and I'm 12 years old. My likes are insects and my clan. My dislikes are people who harm insects. My hobbies are collecting and studying insects. My dream to the future is to discover new breeds of insects." Shino said in a monotone, almost emotionless voice.

" _This kid only thinks about insects?"_ Asuma, Naruto and even Hinata thought collectively.

"Thanks, now blondie, you're next."

"My name is Naruto Uzumaki and I'm 12 years old. My likes are my precious people, training and ramen. My dislikes are the civilian council and arrogant people. My hobbies include gardening and fine literature." Naruto said, referring to the Icha-Icha series, what caused Asuma to chuckle. Naruto, after reading the book merely for sex-ed purposes really started to enjoy the series, there was smut in fact, but aside that the book included romance and a bit of adventure. Naruto even carried a copy alongside his backpack, although he used a black cover to not be labelled as a pervert. Not that he didn't enjoyed the more explicit parts, but he decided not to share his admiration with the others, making him what people would call a 'closet pervert'. "My dream is to become a powerful shinobi, capable of protecting the village and hopefully help Konohamaru become Hokage."

"A very noble goal indeed Naruto, thanks. Now…" Asuma said adopting a serious tone.

"I must inform you that even if you graduated from the academy, it doesn't means that you'll become genin. There's a final test, with a success ratio of only 33%. What I mean is that from the 27 graduates only 9 will be able to pass."

Shino remained stoic, Hinata seemed extremely nervous and Naruto looked emotionless.

" _Shinobi rule number one: a shinobi must never show its true emotions"_ he kept repeating to himself.

"That being said you are dismissed, tomorrow at seven a.m. you'll meet me at Training 14 for the test."

As the genin were leaving, Asuma overheard Naruto muttering a 'everything will be fine to his teammates'.

Ordering sake, Asuma recalled the events from yesterday, when his father announced the teams.

 **Flashback start**

The Sandaime Hokage was a brave man, who fought in all the Three Great Ninja Wars, he was the Professor, the Kami no Shinobi, due to his mastery of all the five nature transformations. Still he was afraid, today he was announcing the genin teams to the council and to his jonin. The council room was full, the clan heads, sitting to his right: Inoichi Yamanaka, Chōza Akimichi, Shikaku Nara, Tsume Inuzuka, Hiashi Hyūga and Shibi Aburame. The civilian council sat to his left and finally, in his front the elders and Danzo, the old war hawk. Standing onto the back of the room the Jonin, Kurenai and Kakashi included. Hiruzen knew that Asuma was probably on his way too.

"I called you here to submit the graduating teams." he said in a serious tone

"Team Seven: Sasuke Uchiha, Sakura Haruno, Kiba Inuzuka. Sensei: Kakashi Hatake. Any objections?" Tsume and Kakashi raised their hands.

"Tsume?"

"I believed my son was going to be put on a tracking team…"

"I decided to give Team Seven more presence, with Kiba tracking possible threats, besides Kakashi specializes in the use of ninken and will be able teach him a thing or two."

Tsume just shrugged: "Makes sense I guess…"

"Now, any objection on this team Kakashi?"

"No, but I believed I asked for Naruto Uzumaki as well."

In the background some members of the civilian council began the sporadic hostile speech against Naruto, bet they were quickly silenced by the killing intent coming from Kakashi and the Hokage himself.

"Yes, but I decided to assign him to another team that will put his abilities in full use." Hiruzen said, throwing a 'I'll further explain that later' look to Kakashi.

"Team Eight: Shikamaru Nara, Ino Yamanaka and Choji Akimichi. Team sensei is Kurenai Yūhi. Objections?"

This time Kurenai raised her hand. "Hokage-sama whilst I don't openly oppose to training this team I believe I personally asked for Hinata Hyūga to be on my team."

"Yes Kurenai, you did, but I've opted to place Hinata under a sensei I believe can help her skills more than you do."

Kurenai looked sad, but nodded in understanding anyway.

"Finally Team 10: Naruto Uzumaki, Hinata Hyūga, Shino Aburame. Any objections?" Hiruzen asked, carefully not mentioning that Asuma was going to be the sensei."

The room exploded in uproar as the civilians started to demand that Naruto shouldn't become a shinobi and that he should be put to death. They were once again subdued by the killer intent from the Hokage, Kakashi, Kurenai and some of the clan heads.

"Hokage-sama" that was Hiashi Hyūga "who's this team sensei?" the room quieted for a bit, clearly curious about the name.

"Yes, I'd like to know that too." Shibi said in the stoic, emotionless Aburame tone.

"Well, the sensei for the Team 10 is…" Hiruzen said sweating a bit and carefully putting himself behind Kakashi should Kurenai had a fit of anger.

"Me." Suddenly, smoking a cigarette, Asuma entered the room. Quickly scanning the room, the bearded jonin saw the woman he loved the most, the woman that he abandoned seven year ago. Kurenai was still beautiful as he remembered. Said woman was looking at him gasping, like she saw a ghost. For one second, that seemed to last forever, their eyes locked and suddenly it was just Asuma and Kurenai, ignoring the entire world around them. However one of those smug civilians decided to ruin the mood.

"Asuma-san, good to see you're back, could you please convince your father that the demon brat shouldn't become a ninja and should be put to the knife instead?"

Sighing, Asuma stole one last glance to the still dumbfounded Kurenai, before releasing a blast of killer intent directed towards the councilman.

"As from now on I'm the jonin sensei of Naruto Uzumaki, so if any of you refer to him as the demon brat or any other pejorative names, actually if any of you even dare to look at him at the wrong way, you won't answer to the Hokage, you'll have to settle things with me. Am I clear?"

The councilor could only nod and ask to be excused since he wet his pants.

Hiashi Hyūga was the next to speak:

"Hokage-sama I'm not opposed to the presence of Uzumaki-san in my daughter's team, but I'd like to ask why you put such team together."

"Well Hyūga-san, Hinata is a close range fighter, whilst Shino is a medium-long range one, Naruto can hold his own at both close, medium and long range, but his strong point is the medium range. By putting those three together with Asuma as sensei I created a strong defensive unit where each member strong point would cover the other weaknesses, and also assigned the best sensei I could find. While I understand Hinata and Shino are heirs and are expected to focus on their clan techniques, Asuma can help Hinata with her taijutsu and his mastery of Fūton ninjutsu can help Shino dispersing his insects. Also there's another reason, but I'd like to the members of the civilian wing to leave first."

"Hokage-sama, we have the right to…" A councilwoman started but quickly was silenced by the Hokage.

"This is shinobi matter, so your presence is no longer required, so, leave or you'd rather be escorted by the ANBU?"

As the civilians begrudgingly left the room, the Sandaime proceeded to speak.

"The final reason is Naruto Uzumaki, since I'll be giving a description of his techniques I figured out it would be better to expel the civilians that could sell, or even give for free this information to the enemy."

"One week ago, Naruto Uzumaki completed his first official mission, a A-ranked one, consisting of the capture of a enemy spy that was acting as a teacher at the academy. The details of the mission and the identity of the spy are classified for security measures. Not only Naruto completed the mission, but he also showed extremely calm and professional behavior, making important decisions on the fly and always considering the best of the village. He can use Katon as good as Sasuke Uchiha can, and has shown some proficiency on kenjutsu. However his natural affinity lies with Fūton release, this being the reason I assigned Asuma with him."

"As you know, wind release is extremely rare in Konoha, where in the recent history only four people were capable of using i: me, Danzō, Asuma and the late Yondaime. Pertaining elemental interactions, Fūton is weak against Katon, but is strong against Raiton. Kumo is notorious for their employment of Raiton, so by properly training Naruto with Fūton, we could have a defense against Kumo should they attack. Also by teaming him up with Hinata, who already suffered a kidnap attempt from Kumo, Naruto can provide her some extra protection considering she'll be performing missions outside the village."

By the time Hiruzen finished his speech, the shinobi clans were pleased with the team arrangements and actually positively impressed by Naruto's skills.

Asuma was making his way towards the exit when he was stopped by Kurenai, surprise gone from her face replaced by sheer coldness.

"Sarutobi-san, Hinata Hyūga has serious confidence issues and as her jonin sensei you're expected to help her overcome those issues. Don't fail her, otherwise I'll have to use **that jutsu**."

Asuma expression quickly turned onto a terrified one. "Kurenai you can't be serious, you can't use **that jutsu** on me."

"Try me." She said before vanishing on a Shunshin.

Hiruzen, who couldn't help but eavesdrop the conversation, noticed his son's terrified expression and asked: "What is **that jutsu** Kurenai was talking about?"

"Father, **that jutsu** is the only and one SSS-rank kinjutsu in history, don't ask me about it. Kurenai used it on me when she caught me peeking at another woman's boobs ten years ago, let's just say that I still have nightmares." He said, shivering as he remembered **that jutsu**.

 **Flashback end**

Well, now the fun begins, he said as he left the restaurant.

* * *

Naruto was making his way towards his apartments when he noticed the door was open.

" _Something is wrong."_

As he entered the apartment, readying himself for a fight he felt a familiar presence behind him.

"You know kid, I'm not a fan of cleanliness, but I think you should really clean your apartment."

Naruto turned out to see Asuma, smoking a cigarette, as always.

"Asuma-sensei, I think you should stop smoking, I'm not a specialist, but I believe this smoke can really fuck your lungs."

"As a shinobi we rarely live long enough to die of lung cancer, also I coat my lungs with chakra." Asuma replied shrugging.

"I see, so any particular reason you decided to invade my apartment?"

"No, just felt like it, now walk with me."

The duo walked until they reached a small park, Asuma then stopped gesturing towards a bench.

"Now for our talk…" he said, sitting beside Naruto.

"Naruto, my father talked a lot about you, actually you are the reason I decided to take a genin team."

Naruto couldn't help but open a wide grin.

"That being said, I could only teach you if I've taken the entire team, but I don't agree with that. You're the best shinobi in this class, even better than Sasuke, so it would be a waste of time if I decided to teach Hinata and Shino. Thankfully I've came up with a solution. Fail the exam tomorrow, then I'll take you as my only apprentice, I promise you that you'll be stronger than you've ever dreamt of."

Naruto stood there looking at Asuma, maintaining a emotionless façade.

"So what's your answer Naruto-kun?"

"Fuck you. Tomorrow I'll kick your ass and then I'll report you to the Hokage for even suggesting me that. It doesn't matter if you're his son or Konohamaru's uncle, tomorrow I'll show you no mercy and when I'm finished you'll wish you never left the capital."

"Is that so?" Asuma asked with an amused smile. "Your choice sealed your fate." He said before disappearing.

* * *

Training ground 14 was basically a grassy plain with some trees and training dummies around it. Basically it provided a lot of open space, whilst clearly lacking commodities. Naruto reached the area at seven a.m. sharply, only to find that Hinata and Shino were already there.

"Am I late?"

"Actually no, we both decided to show up early." Shino explained

"You guys are nervous too right?"

The duo just nodded, Naruto the proceeded to take his Icha-Icha from the backpack and started to read it, sitting under a tree. Five minutes later, clearly bothered by the silence, Naruto decided to rejoin his teammates.

"Look guys, we really don't know each other well, but right now we need to cooperate. Asuma is strong and as a genin our only shot at beating him is a good strategy and teamwork."

"I agree, so what we're going to do?" Shino asked

"Let's get to know each other abilities, I'll start…"

Unknown to them Asuma was sitting on a tree, watching the conversation.

" _I've seen everything I needed to see."_

"…my ability is the use of the Jūken to close…" Hinata was interrupted by the sudden appearance of Asuma, who stood there stone faced and surprisingly not smoking a cigarette.

"Are you ready to the test?" he asked impassively

Naruto looked towards his teammates who nodded to him, before responding.

"Yes we are."

Asuma then lit up a cigarette and smiled.

"You…pass, congratulations."

"WHAT?" was the collective yell of the group.

* * *

 **Author's notes:** This chapter was supposed to be a long one, but I've decided to split it in two, so don't worry because another chapter is on the way soon. Now I'd like to talk about story progression and the pairings:

 **Story progression:** Since it's my first try at writing a fanfiction I'm not sure of the speed that the story should progress, I've planned the story until the final stage of the Chunin Exams, after that I'm still developing things. The Chunin Exams will be different from the canon, I already antecipate that the exam format will be the same, but some events will happen differently. In my Chunin Exams I can antecipate that some characters who haven't died in that point in canon will die, whilst some others who were killed during the exams will survive. I'd guess that it'll take three to four chapters to finally reach the Chunin Exams timeline

There'll be no Wave Arc in this story, Kakashi and team seven will go to the wave, but it'll not be portrayed directly here.

About the timeline between the graduation and the start of the exams: Naruto will be stronger, actually I'd say that by the start of the chunin exams he would already be at mid-chunin level. In this meantime he will complete a S-rank, but I won't reveal the details.

Closing the story progression part: Naruto will gain a sword, I'm divided between giving Naruto the Raijin no Ken (Sword of the Thunder God) or the Kiba, one of the seven swords from the mist. I prefer the first one, but if there's a huge support for the later I might be able to change it.

I've made some few changes into the pre-canon timeline, mainly concerning Asuma, he actually dated Kurenai, but broke up with her before going to the Twelve Guardians.

 **About pairings:** As I mentioned before, when I imagined this story I've already imagined three girls into the harem, Ino and Sakura fall into that category, the third girl will be introduced during the Chunin Exams arc. I've decided to hold adding another girls into the harem until the start of the Shippuden timeline, so I will be able to develop Naruto's relationship with the girls individually. I already received some suggestions and I'm considering the ones that will be of better use for the story. Also as I revealed two girls that will be present in the harem, i'll reveal two that won't be present into the harem:

Kurenai: in this story I already decided that she will be paired with Asuma.

Anko: the main reason is that I think that Naruto x Anko is overused, I also dislike Anko's personality, so she won't be present in the harem, but that doesn't means she will be ignored.


	5. Tulips

_Disclaimer: I don't own Naruto._

 _As promised, the second part of the chapter, it was supposed to be longer, but I decided to end it with a cliffhanger, so apologies in advance for my evilness. This chapter has a brief fight scene between Asuma and Naruto and a NaruIno moment. Also, please check the AN in the end of the chapter._

* * *

 _Asuma then lit up a cigarette and smiled._

" _You…pass, congratulations."_

" _WHATT?" was the collective yell of the group._

"Simple, you passed my test."

"What? But how?" Naruto asked, still on guard

"Let me clarify things for you, yesterday we talked, what I asked of you?"

"To fail the test intentionally so you would take me as your apprentice."

"I asked this question to each one of you, so when Hinata and Shino refused and you said, in your own words, 'fuck you', the first part of the test was over. During a mission the enemy, or even a said ally can approach you with various kinds of offers. Wealth, power even your own life to give you a few examples. When you refused personal offers in the favor of the unity of the team, you proved to be real shinobi." Asuma said, before taking a drag of smoke from the cigarette. "Listen kids, a team is stronger as it weakest link, if any of you accepted my offer I'd fail the team. I won't be taking a team that has an uncommitted member, during combat this could mean our deaths."

The genins seemed to accept the explanation, as Naruto then raised a hand. "Sensei you said something about first part of the test, what was the second part about?"

"The second part was about your willingness to work together, when you all accepted that you were facing a enemy stronger than you could either attempt to push your limits and risk death in return of recognition or you could accept your flaws and work with your teammates to survive. Needless to say that the second option was the correct."

"Now, I will spar each of you individually so I can measure your abilities, I suggest you paying attention to the movements and skills of each teammate, so you could familiarize yourself with him when we go for team training."

The first one to spar Asuma was Shino, he attempted several movements using his kikaichū, but Asuma used Fūton ninjutsu to properly repel them. Them, noticing that Shino was starting to show signs of chakra exhaustion, Asuma quickly changed the combat to close range, where his taijutsu easily overpowered a defenseless Shino.

The next spar was against Hinata. Opting to see the Hyūga heiress proficiency at the Jūken, he started a taijutsu match. Hinata showed to be talented with the Jūken, but Asuma noted that her defensive instance was weak, probably due to Hinata's physical complexion that enhanced her flexibility and speed in exchange for strength and resilience. Observing that it was clear that Hinata wasn't physically able to use the traditional instance of the Hyūga, where rigidness was prioritized over the natural adaptability Hinata had.

" _I'll need to talk with Hiashi about this later."_

However the spar Asuma was looking forward the most was against Naruto. He heard great things about the boy and was itching to confirm if those are indeed true.

Naruto readied himself, analyzing his opponent.

" _His taijutsu is super strong, he uses Fūton ninjutsu, so my Katon may be able to defeat him."_

Naruto leapt backwards, adjusting to a mid-range fight, before flashing handsigns and calling his jutsu: " _Katon: Endan_ (Fire Release: Flame Bullet)"

Five medium sized bullets were making his way towards Asuma, who performed the _Katon: Karyū Endan_ (Fire Release: Fire Dragon Flame Bullet)the flames turned into three fire dragons who dispelled Naruto's flame bullets and charged forward, making Naruto leap upwards to dodge the flames.

"Too slow." Asuma said appearing in front of Naruto who, in airborne, could do nothing to evade the punch in the gut.

"GAH" Naruto said crashing on the ground.

Quickly rolling sideways to avoid a axe kick, Naruto performed the _Katon: Gōkakyū no Jutsu_ (Fire Release: Great Fireball Technique). Asuma, who didn't had the time to use a jutsu to avoid the fireball, jumped out of the way of the attack, only to be greeted by another Endan right onto his face. Thinking onto his feet, he performed a seal less Kawarimi, hiding into the trees and unleashing a barrage of shuriken towards the genin.

Using his natural speed and his acrobatic abilities, Naruto managed to avoid the barrage. Throwing a kunai in the direction where the shuriken came from, Naruto forced Asuma to leave his position, landing in front of Naruto.

"Your ninjutsu is good kid, now let's see your taijutsu." He said readying his stance.

Naruto nodded before entering a defensive stance. Asuma charged forward, delivering a power blow, hoping to get into Naruto's guard. The genin saw trough that and opted to dodge instead of parrying or blocking the blow. For the next five minutes, they spared Asuma relentlessly attacking and Naruto doing his best to not get hit and looking for any openings that Asuma could provide but he found none. " _Flawless, is that what a jonin is like?"_ Naruto was brought out of his musing as Asuma's fist connected to his gut, sending him to the ground. Naruto stayed down for about ten seconds before jumping back to his feet.

"You know kid, you won't win if you don't attack."

Naruto glared Asuma with an impassive face, but deep inside he knew the bearded jonin was right. Readying himself, he charged forward, attempting to hit Asuma with leg sweeps and uppercuts. However the jonin was good, and as Naruto overextended a jab, which Asuma easily avoided, the blonde saw his guard wide open and lost the air of his lungs as a elbow strike from Asuma sent him crashing backwards.

Asuma could say he was impressed , he wasn't pulling any punches, unlike he did when he sparred Hinata and Shino. He glanced to the boy who was slowly getting up. Said boy then got into a different stance, his feet were parallel and pointed towards the diagonal, there was no open base, his knees weren't flexed and his hands formed a defensive position at his abdomen level. Shortly this wasn't any taijutsu style Asuma saw on the leaf, it, at first glance, looked extremely carefree, but Naruto seemed to know what he was doing. So Asuma charged forward, delivering a telegraphed punch to test the genin reaction. Naruto moved his neck, avoiding the punch before giving a kick to Asuma's extended arm. The jonin studied the blonde movements and he was sure that every martial artist would wince in seeing his movements. _"Fights like a thug."_ He thought. However even not following any school of the martial arts, Naruto's taijutsu was surprisingly effective. The main focus of the taijutsu was clearly evasion, and opening counter-attack points, however instead of forcefully exploiting those counter-attacks, Naruto would settle for slowly mining his opponents, using blows to the joints to restrain movement and hitting certain areas in repetition. Asuma presumed that Naruto developed this style by his own, an impressive feat for someone his age, but he could see movements that looked similar to the Hebi (snake), Gōken (strong fist) and Suiken (drunken fist) styles.

"Ok Naruto, that's enough, go sit with your teammates."

As Naruto properly sat down, Asuma looked down to his team and couldn't help but smile, they did much better than he expected.

"Well I'd like to say I'm proud of all of you, I was able to properly evaluate your skills and I tell you, I'm pleased with what I've seen so far. Of course there are some minor things that need work, but if we develop as I expect I dare say that in a month we will be going to our first C-rank mission. Now for things that need work on."

"First with you Hinata: your taijutsu is good, but I believe that if you somehow let loose and focus on fluidity instead of rigidness you would be able to get better results, I'll visit your father to ask for permission to change the Jūken to fit your body type. For now I want you to spar against other styles than the Hyūga, Shino is a good start, since your skill levels are similar, however I believe that after some time you'll be able to take on Naruto."

At the mention of 'taking on Naruto' Hinata developed a small nosebleed, that wasn't noticed by the other members.

"H-Hai sensei."

"Shino, your use of kikaichū is masterful, however I would recommend you to further improve other areas of your training. I'd start with taijutsu that is your weak point, but I'd also look at some non-Aburame ninjutsu."

"Okay"

"Finally you, Naruto. I'd dare to say you are already at chunin level, but you need more versatility and coverage to your ninjutsu. Your taijutsu is a rather intriguing prospect that benefits from the lack of formal direction, however I'd like to help you to add some fundaments to improve it. Finally, genjutsu… well I won't lie to you, your genjutsu will never be on the same level as your taijutsu or ninjutsu, you have a good chakra control considering your reserves but I believe that you'll never get past B-rank genjutsu. However you are easily a target for genjutsu, so I'll also teach you how to dispel high level ones. However skill wise I believe you're the strongest rookie in this year's graduating class, despite of what others try to say."

Asuma then proceeded to make a training schedule, he would take a in the week to drill the team in teamwork and tactics, also each member would have a day where they would individually work with Asuma whilst the others sparred against each other and completed personal assignments given by Asuma. Finally the last weekday would be reserved to the team spend in their clan compound, learning their personal techniques, as Naruto didn't had a clan it was decided that he would use this final day to work with Asuma. Weekends were reserved for mild personal training and mainly recuperation, since Asuma assigned individual physical trainings that would be difficult for the first few weeks considering they were transitioning from academy students to fully fledged shinobi. The trainings would take place in the afternoon, since the team would use the mornings to complete D-ranked missions.

During Mondays, Hinata would train with Asuma, Tuesday was Shino's and Wednesday Naruto's. Thursday was reserved for team training. Finally Friday was the day the team members would work individually with their clans, but for Naruto it meant another session with Asuma.

* * *

Two weeks later Naruto could state that he was extremely happy in being trained by Asuma. The jonin always made him work extremely hard and Naruto knew that it was his obligation to work even harder than expected, because he doubted there would be any other jonin so willing to teach him like Asuma was. Training with the former guardian three times per week, as opposed to his team's two, made him closer to his sensei as compared to his teammates. Asuma was extremely honest and clearly stated that should he fall on a mission, Naruto would have to take the responsibility to keep his team safe. As for training, the guy was a perfectionist, during taijutsu practice he would make Naruto repeat the same moves a hundred times if he believed they weren't good enough. However, Asuma really outshined when teaching Fūton nature transformation, his specialty. When Naruto found out about his Fūton affinity two years ago during training with Ebisu he wasn't very happy, he believed that it would be useless in a village that was famous for his employment of Katon, who held a natural advantage against Fūton. Boy, he was wrong, it took Asuma two hours and a demonstration with his chakra knives to make Naruto idea about the Fūton change completely. Now Naruto was extremely glad to have a wind affinity, considering the plethora of uses this nature could have on the battlefield. Naruto's training in Fūton manipulation was only beginning, as he had yet to properly cut a leaf using his chakra.

Naruto was brought out of his musings when he reached his apartment. Asuma gave the team a day off tomorrow as he was pleased with the team progress. Looking to his coffee table, he noticed the two scrolls above it: _Katon: Karyūdan_ (Fire Release: Fire Dragon Bullet) and _Kage Bunshin no Jutsu_ (Shadow Clone Technique). Those two scrolls were actually forgotten, since he had been busy with training after graduation. Naruto knew it wasn't the brightest of the ideas to attempt to use a fire ninjutsu inside his apartment, so he decided to attempt the second scroll. He read the jutsu description that the Hokage provided:

 _B-ranking clone technique that was developed by Tobirama Senju: the Nidaime Hokage. This jutsu creates solid clones that would only dispel at the user commands or after being hit. This is considered a kinjutsu because of the sheer chakra usage, should someone attempt to perform this jutsu without proper chakra reserves he could risk chakra exhaustion and possibly death. Upon dispelling, the clone memories are transferred to the original, making this technique highly suited for information gathering into enemy territory._

Naruto's eyes nearly jumped out of his sockets: this jutsu was created by the legendary Tobirama, possibly his favorite Hokage, and could create solid clones! Naruto was too excited that he never bothered to read the death risk or the memory transfer part, he just jumped into the proper instructions for chakra molding and handsigns. Forming a cross shaped sign, Naruto properly molded his chakra before yelling.

"Kage Bunshin no Jutsu."

Suddenly 25 copies of Naruto appeared. Poking a clone to see if he was indeed real, which he was Naruto was amazed. _"I must talk with Hokage-jiji."_

"Hey, boss." One of the clones called

"Yeah?"

"What should we do?"

With a mischievous grin and a bossy voice he began to give orders. "Clean the house, polish the glasses, and dinner better be ready when I get back." He said before heading towards the exit.

As he was making his way towards the office, he passed by a certain flower shop…

* * *

Ino Yamanaka was bored, she couldn't believe she would say that but she missed the academy. Nothing wrong with her teammates, Shikamaru and Choji had their flaws, a whole lot of flaws, but they were reliable. Also she enjoyed talking with Kurenai, she was a strict teacher but everything she did was for her best, Kurenai approached her on her first day as a genin to try to pry off her fangirlish tendencies and whilst Ino didn't abided of them completely she was beginning to see that there was life beyond Sasuke. Not seeing the Uchiha since graduation definitively helped too. But she was bored, why? Lack of eye candy. Choji and Shikamaru were far from attractive. Working in a flower shop was another complication, every attractive guy that set foot there was already taken or was planning on asking a girl out. Ino sighed, it wasn't like the boy of her dreams would suddenly walk through the door.

Ring!

The bell announced another customer.

"Welcome to Yamanaka flowers, how can I help you?" she said not taking her eyes off the magazine she was reading.

"I'd like to…Ino?"

Ino jerked her head upwards to just come face to face with Naruto. In Ino's opinion, Naruto was far from ugly, actually when she first saw him four years ago at the academy, she thought he was kind of cute. Ino, during the time she was still friends with Sakura would grade a boy's look, Sasuke obviously was a A+, Naruto by this time was graded by the girls as a B-, which was above average (having Kiba, Shino and Choji in the class didn't do any wonders for the average rating). Even when she and Sakura became rivals, Ino continued with her habit. When Naruto showed up in the genin assignments with a totally different look, his grade just went up to A-, but now, standing face to face with the boy Ino realized she made a mistake because Naruto Uzumaki was definitively a A+.

"Naruto, what you doing here." She asked trying to suppress a blush

"Well I'd like to buy a few potted plants for my apartment, to add a bit of green."

"Oh I see, anything in particular?"

"No, do you have any suggestion?"

"Yes, I'll show you."

Naruto decided to buy a few potted plants, following Ino's recommendations. They talked about lot of things and Naruto surprisingly enough enjoyed the conversation with a girl that in his own opinion was superficial.

"So Ino, how are the missions going?"

"Well D-ranks are boring, today we had to chase the daimyo's wife cat…"

"Tora? The demon cat?" Naruto questioned with Ino giggling at the nickname

"Yes"

"How long did you take to catch him?"

"2 hours"

"2 HOURS?" Naruto yelled

"Yes, is that too much?" Ino asked confused by her fellow blond sudden outburst

"No, is too little, when we chased that demon" Naruto said emphasizing his last word "we took whole five hours to capture him, and that damn cat tore my jacked, broke Shino's sunglasses and destroyed Asuma's cigarettes. People say about the Kyūbi, but Tora makes it look like a simple bug."

"Naruto, that's no fun, some of my clansmen died during the attack." Ino said in a scolding tone.

Naruto then realized that he probably crossed a line and was about to apologize when he heard Ino laughing out loud.

"You should have seen your face, priceless." Naruto first frowned clearly no happy about being tricked, but soon found himself staring at the smiling Ino. _"Her smile is pretty, makes you want to protect her…"_

"You have a beautiful smile." Naruto noted, causing a light blush to appear on Ino's cheeks.

Naruto then noticed a pale pink flower on a basket near the counter. Feeling surprisingly bold he took the flower, tulip as he would recognize some time later, and handed it to Ino, causing her to blush bright red. "A flower for a beauty."

What Naruto didn't know is that offering a tulip was a declaration of love.

Ino was trying her best to control her emotions, a perfectly fine boy gave her a tulip, and as she looked at him she felt pulled towards his blue eyes. Naruto was having the same thoughts as he glanced and couldn't help but admire the girl in front of him. As the world stopped around them, they leaned forward…

* * *

 _ ** _Author's notes:_** About the reviews I've received: Thanks a lot for the support guys, it means a lot to me that so many people decided to take their time to help me further develop my work. Now for some things I'd like to clarify..._

 _The third confirmed girl for the harem already was suggested in the reviews, so if you want you could check the reviews to try guessing her identity_

 _Naruto's parentage will be known by him before the Shippuden, however I won't mention the exact time since it'll give some major plot details._

 _Sakura's relationship with Naruto is vastly different when compared to the canon, right now I'd classify them as acquaintances. Since Naruto matured earlier than the canon, he never bothered to ask Sakura out, he still admired her, but never made it clear. So, in this fic Sakura never mistreated Naruto. Also Sakura will have a chance to prove herself worthy in the future._

 _About Naruto's skillset: Like I said in the previous note, Naruto will be already mid-chunin level by the start of the chunin exams, but I plan on giving him both Suiton and Raiton, even though they won't be nearly as strong as his Futon and Katon._

 _Finally about the Kiba x Raijin no Ken: I am strongly leaning towards giving Naruto the raijin no ken, 'my' Naruto has a great admiration for Tobirama, and it would be nice for me to see him yielding his swords. Also, foreseeing some questions regarding Naruto's statement that Tobirama was his favorite Hokage. Naruto doesn't hate the Yondaime, but he resents him for sealing the Kyubi inside him. Naruto sees the Sandaime as family, but he only got to met with Hiruzen's aged version, so for a 12 year old it was natural seing a middle aged Hokage, hailed as one of the strongest in the world and that died sacrificing himself for his companions as more heroic than a guy he often saw burried under paperwork._

 _I believe the next chapter will be up by Sunday or maybe Monday morning, also please leave a lot of reviews, I love reading the comments and interacting with you guys, so until next chapter, goodbye._


	6. Trouble with Shadow Clones

Disclaimer: I don't own Naruto.

Check end of the chapter for author notes

* * *

 _Ino was trying her best to control her emotions, a perfectly fine boy gave her a tulip, and as she looked at him she felt pulled towards his blue eyes. Naruto was having the same thoughts as he glanced and couldn't help but admire the girl in front of him. As the world stopped around them, they leaned forward…_

Same time, at Naruto's apartment.

The army of 25 five clones was doing their chores. Considering Naruto didn't cleared the house for well…,….,…., well, since he moved in, they had a huge amount of work to do, so the clones divided themselves in a group of 20, responsible to clean the house and a group of 5, to cook Naruto's dinner. This last group decided to prepare a homemade ramen, as Naruto read that instant meals were bad for his health.

A clone was responsible to boil the water whilst another one cut the veggies. When the water finally boiled, the clone decided to take the kettle with the water to the sink, but failing to notice that a broom was lying on the floor. As he tripped on the floor and sent a wave of boiling water towards the clone that was cutting the veggies, he could only yell. "WATCH OUT."

The clone that dutifully worked in his duties turned his head curiously, and then his expression changed into horror as the wave went towards him. As the inevitable happened, the clone dispelled, sending his memories to the original…

Back at the flower shop

As they leaned closer, they didn't formed any thoughts nor said any words, the moment provided a opening for the kiss to happen, and both decided to go with the flow. In a matter of physical time, not even five seconds passed by, but for the blonde duo, if felt like hours. Each centimeter was an mile and each second was an hour, as their noses almost touched.

Ino had her first rational thought : she was going to kiss Naruto Uzumaki. Naruto however didn't had any thought, he was moving in pure instinct, he actually never kissed a girl but it felt like his body was moving on his own, he didn't cared that he was going to kiss a girl who spent the last four years fawning over Sasuke nor that he actually had any experience of kissing other than the rather graphic scenes that he read in his 'black book'.

However instincts kicked once again when he received the memories of his dispelled clone. Confused by the unfamiliar sensation, Naruto misread the situation, assuming that the memories were actually happening, so he quickly hugged Ino protectively, as he looked around for any signs of danger. After clearing his mind and finally realizing that the memory had something to do with the clones he left at home, he sighed, only to find he was still awkwardly hugging Ino. Releasing the hug, both blonds looked at each other, with blushes evident on their faces. As both of the genins broke eye contact and Naruto decided to end the rather awkward situation.

"Well, I gotta see the Hokage, goodbye Ino-chan." " _Shit, did I just say Ino-chan?"_ he said before quickly making his way out of the shop.

"Goodbye, Naruto….-kun." Ino said to nobody in particular, muttering the last part. Before reflexing on what just happened.

" _Naruto and I almost kissed, but I like Sasuke-kun, right? I should be glad we didn't kiss, but why I feel so empty?"_

* * *

"So what's your opinion about your team so far?"

"Well…"

Since Asuma returned from the capital, Hiruzen decided to make an extra effort to reform bonds with his younger son. The Sandaime would make time to play Shogi, their favorite pastime activity since Asuma was a kid and sometimes, like today they would have dinner together at the Sarutobi's compound. A quiet and peaceful dinner…

"HEY OLD MAN."

That was just interrupted by Naruto.

Sighing the Hokage got up his seat on the table and opened up the door to Naruto.

"Hello Naruto, any particular reason to interrupt my dinner?"

Naruto then scratched the back of his head and showed some embarrassment, before muttering an apology.

"Well, forget that now, what brings you here?"

"I completed the Kage Bunshin." He proclaimed with proudness in his voice.

At is Asuma, who was still sitting on the table hearing the conversation, ears perked up. The Kage Bunshin was a great jutsu, and could help the team a lot.

"That's great kid." The heavy smoker said, appearing beside his father.

"Hi Asuma-sensei." the blond greeted.

"Well, congratulations Naruto, the Kage Bunshin is a B-rank jutsu and mastering it is a hard task." The Sandaime spoke up.

"Yes, but there's something I noticed, before going out I left some clones at home doing some chores, then suddenly I felt like I shared one of those clones feelings and senses."

"Actually, Naruto you probably received his memories." seeing the genin puzzled expression the Hokage explained further. "When a clone dispels they share their memories with the original, making it a great technique for information gathering, but the scroll I gave you said that didn't it?"

"Well, I kindofstopedreadingitwhenIheardphysicalclones." Naruto said clearly embarrassed about making a fool out of himself in front of the Hokage.

The Hokage and his son chuckled at Naruto embarrassment, and Hiren couldn't help but feel a bit of sad that, despite acting so mature for his age, Naruto was still a kid.

" _The village made him that way with their lack of compassion, Minato I'm sorry."_

"Well Naruto, the Kage Bunshin is a good technique to have in your arsenal, it can be used for both combat and espionage." Asuma said

"Also, there's a good usage of the technique for training, although it is only reserved for chakra pool powerhouses like you. Tell me Naruto, how many clones did you make?" Hiruzen asked

"Twenty five, but I was low on chakra."

"Well, since clones transfer their memories to the original you can use them to speed up your training." Hiruzen said, chuckling at Naruto's amazed smile. "The level of chakra you put on the clones dictates their durability, although they will always disperse on their being hit. Your concentration also plays a huge role in this as it can lead to clones performing more complexes tasks."

"Wow…" Naruto said in awe, before turning to his sensei. "Hey Asuma-sensei, I know you gave me a day off tomorrow, but what about some training camp?"

"Well, if I refused you'd keep pestering nonstop, so let's do this, meet me tomorrow at the gates, pack for three days, because we're going on a training trip.

* * *

Naruto met with Asuma at the gates of the village. The jonin decided that he and Naruto would camp and train onto a mountainous region nearby the village. Asuma and the Hokage decided that this area was the best for Naruto training because of the isolation of the area as they didn't wanted the villagers to bother him or Danzō to get a full look at the boy's abilities. The mountains provided a physical challenge for Naruto to overcome and the lack of facilities was a plus as well, as Asuma believed that by the end of the three days Naruto would be able to perform some low rankings wind ninjutsu and knowing the blond a trail of devastation was most likely.

As they reached the destination, Asuma ordered Naruto to make twenty clones to work on the leaf cutting exercise whilst they sparred in a taijutsu battle.

Asuma was still adapting to fight Naruto's taijutsu, and while he already knew that he was supposed to expect the unexpected it always surprised him the ways the blond could avoid point blank strikes and properly counterattack. Naruto still hadn't landed a single hit on his sensei, but he felt that everyday he was getting closer, today he almost got Asuma by pump faking a left kick only to use a roundhouse kick jumping mid-air with his right leg.

The pattern on those spars was always Asuma getting into offense whilst Naruto defended himself, looking for any openings to exploit. Sadly for him the jonin gave none and proceed the onslaught for hours, until Naruto moves became sloppier due to the muscular fatigue and Asuma finally landed a striking blow.

"Good moves kid, you are improving faster." Asuma commented

"Thanks Asuma-sensei."

"Hmmm. Kid, mind if I ask you something a bit personal?"

"No."

"It's about your taijutsu style, it's different from everything I've seen my entire life. I assume that you invented it right?"

"Yes."

"Any particular reasons? The academy taijutsu didn't fit you?"

"Actually I never was taught at the academy." Seeing Asuma's puzzled expression Naruto elaborated further. "Well, since you just got back it's no wonder your father didn't told you yet. You know about my tenant right?" as Asuma nodded Naruto continued:

"People mistook me for the Kyūbi and treated me like shit since I could remember. At the academy it was no different, the teachers hated me and with exception of Iruka-sensei they constantly sabotaged my training. When the Hokage discovered what was happening he was enraged and wanted to fire the entire teacher corps. However this day I decided I wouldn't take shit from anyone any further, so I threw myself in training. Hokage-sama was kind enough to hire Ebisu to help me with that, however I wasn't content, I wanted more."

"So I decided that I would show everyone at the academy that I didn't needed them, so I studied harder on my own. As things improved my ego grew bigger and I shamefully admit that I became arrogant at point of purposefully picking fights so I could hurt people. This style I developed because bullies from the academy and some stupid civilians would try gang up on me despite the ANBU vigilance, and since I was so proud of myself I didn't felt like asking for help everytime. I knew that if I was hit I would get beaten, so I trained myself to avoid any kind of damage and exploit their mistakes made in blind rage against the demon brat. Since I was smaller than them I decided to use quickness and agility to overcome their superior strength."

"I grew even more arrogant to the point that villagers truly feared me, and I felt like enjoying hurting them. But then it happened." Naruto said sadly. "It was my tenth birthday and this was a rather touchy subject. When I was younger the ANBU instructed me to avoid going to the streets, so the villagers wouldn't try to hurt me. But this day I felt different, and I decided to go buy some ramen, it was my birthday after all. As I walked in the streets I felt proud of myself, the villagers couldn't hurt me anymore. Then this drunken guy came and started calling me names, offending me, nothing I've already heard before. Usually people would ignore him, but I felt restless, as if I wanted people to really fear me."

"I backed the guy at an alley and we fought, after five minutes I've had defeated him, but I didn't cared. He was already on the verge of unconsciousness, but I kept hitting him. When the ANBU came I've already broken almost every bone in his body and he was just a bloodied mess then. Next day I was called by the Hokage and he used a invisibility jutsu to take me to the hospital. The guy survived but he had severe internal bleeding and the constant hits I've dealt to his head put him on a coma state. But this didn't changed my mind, he deserved it. But then I saw her wife sitting by his bedside and crying. Then it hit me. If I kept causing pain and suffering to the other even though they deserved it I would be what they called me: a demon. So from this day onwards I decided that I'd wear the mantle of a demon, so they would leave me alone, but I would never become one, because if I did, everybody that mistreated would have won."

"Even today I get a look or two of fear, but apparently the Hokage did his best to cover up the story. There are some dumb villagers who still try to corner me on an alley to 'finish what the Yondaime started', and even if I have all the rights to kill them in self-defense I don't, because I think I might be taking a child of a father, making a widow or making a child fatherless, so I settled for just breaking some bones. I won't lie, it feels somewhat pleasant to see they get what they want, but I will never again take joy from hurting the others. Because I promised myself I wouldn't, and I never break my promises."

* * *

 **Author notes:** This was a somewhat shorter chapter, but I felt like it was extremely important as it gave the conclusion to Ino and Naruto's interaction and gave a look at Naruto's past, helping Asuma to understand why Naruto acted this way. I've had an extremely busy weekend and the chapter seven is still to be written, so I believe it will be ready Tuesday or Wednesday.

Now for the proper author notes and some answers to the questions posed by readers in the reviews section:

First I'd like to express my gratitude to the readers who followed and favorited my fanfic, it has almost 150 followers and 100 favorites. When I started writing this a week ago I'd never expect it to achieve this level of success. Recognition like this highly motivates me and I promise to hone my writing even further in order to provide you with quality content.

Now for the questions and answers:

Q: I thought Kurenai wanted an all Kunoichi team?

A: Kurenai indeed asked for a entire team composed of females and Kakashi also asked to have Naruto on his team, but the Sandaime decided to step in and ignore the requests, in order to balance the teams and give the rookie nine equal chances to progress.

Q: There will be a 'brave' aka 'stupid' villager trying to attack Naruto even with Asuma's threat?

A: As elaborated further in this chapter, they actually fear Naruto, thus their attempts being discouraged. The civilian council doesn't have a grasp on Naruto's abilities, so for now they are just hoping him to die in a mission. In the future I may have something planed for them, but for now they will just be hostile, but not super aggressive.

Q: How will Sasuke's arcs will go?

A: I still didn't gave it a lot of thought, Sasuke will be slightly different than canon as he didn't interacted with Naruto regularly. But there will be a lot of focus on him, especially after the chunin exams arc.

Q: Will Naruto meet up with Kurama any time soon?

A: Yes, I have a meeting scene planed during the chunin exams arc, but I assure you it'll be different than canon.

Q: great chapter, though last part is too cheesy and cringy for my taste, btw will naruto try or learn fuinjutsu? and will he get kekei genkai of uzumakis?

A: Well, after I posted last chapter I reread the NaruIno scene and I got to admit it wasn't my best work, in my defense I'm still a rookie and I've done some research in order to improve both romantic and fight scenes as in my opinion they still lack the quality I desire them to have. To the second question: the answer is yes and I dare say it'll be sooner than you think.

Finally pertaining the third girl... I don't feel like keeping her identity as a secret any longer than needed, so I'll reveal it next chapter, although she will only appear some chapters later.

So, this is the end of my notes, please leave a review if you can, I love reviews.

Until next chapter


	7. First of Many

Disclaimer: I don't own Naruto. Check the end of the chapter for Author's notes and the identity of the third main girl.

* * *

The three days trip was over and Naruto and Asuma were back in Konoha. The blond progressed greatly, completing the first stage of the wind nature transformation, the leaf cutting and the second stage too, that consisted on splitting the leaf in a half. Naruto also took advantage of Asuma's presence to finish the _Katon: Karyūdan_ (Fire Release: Fire Dragon Bullet), the jutsu on the scroll that was gifted by Ebisu and got to learn the _Katon: Karyū Endan_ (Fire Release: Fire Dragon Flame Bullet), another B-rank ninjutsu. The _Karyūdan_ and the _Karyū Endan_ were somewhat the same technique with some few notable differences. The first technique consisted basically of a flamethrower taking the shape of a dragon. The second technique consisted on expelling from two to four dragons made of fire and controlling them to slam against the opponent, this technique spending more chakra and having a slightly longer range than the first one.

However, the most notable change to Naruto's ninjutsu repertoire was finally adding some Fūton ninjutsu onto the mix. Asuma taught Naruto C-ranked techniques: the _Fūton: Daitoppa_ (Wind Release: Great Breakthrough),a jutsu that consisted on expelling a gust of wind from the mouth and that with enough power and chakra could go as far as destructing a large tree, and the _Fūton: Reppūshō_ (Wind Release: Gale Palm) that consisted on creating a gale by clapping the user hands together.

Asuma promised to teach Naruto some B-ranked ninjutsu after he finished the third and the fourth stage of wind transformation, but for now he decided to focus on the rest of its team, as he felt that they should progress at the same rate as the blond jinchūriki. Naruto totally agreed with that and whilst working on the third stage of its Wind release training, that consisted on cutting a rock by channeling wind infused chakra in it, he made time to help his teammates improve their own skills.

Naruto worked with Shino on developing some cooperation techniques using his newly acquired Fūton attacks alongside Shino's kikaichū. Naruto and Shino never were close in the academy, however in this one month they worked together, they developed a respect for each other. Naruto at first thought of trying to have Shino to open up, leaving his stoic demeanors, but then he realized that he shouldn't try to change people for his liking and made his best to interact with Shino without intruding too much.

Hinata was probably the teammate that mostly benefitted of Naruto's help. He helped the Hyūga heiress to improve her taijutsu, but most importantly her confidence and self-stem. Hinata was still shy and would stutter when nervous, but didn't acted like she would faint everytime she saw him. Naruto knew of Hinata's crush on him and made his best to not hurt the girl's heart by acting oblivious, so the Hyūga heiress could get over him on her own. During his spars with Hinata, Naruto was able to grasp the basics of the Jūken, going as far as bastardize the style to create one of his own, so he could improve Hinata's training even further.

Naruto started to see his team as family, because never in his life he would spend so much time with the same people. He saw Asuma as the closest he had of a father, the jonin really took interest on him and made sure to teach Naruto as much as he could. His teachings weren't just focused on shinobi skills, but life itself, he would gladly speak of his time serving under the daimyo at the capital and the different parts of the world he got to know. He also told Naruto about his longtime friend Chiriku, a ninja monk that alongside him helped to prevent a coup d'état against the Hokage. They would constantly play shogi, with Naruto winning 20 matches as opposed to Asuma's 17. Hinata was the younger sister Naruto never had, and he as any good bigger brother, was fiercely protective of her. He would constantly encourage the girl's efforts and took a big disliking to the caged bird seal as he learnt about the rift it caused on the girl's family. After being told by Hinata about the Kumo kidnapping incident he saw Hinata in other eyes, he always believed the Hyūga clan to be arrogant, with Hinata being an exception to that rule, but now he realized that even being noble and wealthy, Hinata had to face her own hardships. Finally Shino… Shino was kind like a distant cousin that you see once a year on family reunions, but family nonetheless.

Hinata was ecstatic about her team. Asuma was a strict teacher, but never belittled her in favor of his naturally more talented teammates, a thing that always happened on her clan when she was compared to Hanabi or Neji. Besides that Asuma also helped her with her taijutsu as they developed an experimental variation of the Jūken that gave Hinata more fluidity. Hinata preferred this new style over the strict traditional form that her clan practiced, but Asuma instructed her to not reveal this new form to her clan yet as it was still a work in progress. Shino was someone Hinata could really relate to and strategy wise they would always be paired together as they covered each other weaknesses. But for Hinata the most important thing was to be alongside Naruto, she really loved him and she felt that as long as she was with him she would be safe. She didn't have the courage to confess her feelings for him but for now she was happy to be just friends with him. Putting romantic feelings aside she was always impressed by Naruto's legendary work ethic, the blond was the first one in the last one out, always undergoing voluntary training and yet he wasn't power hungry, as he more than once decided to skip his personal training sessions to help her and Shino with their training.

Shino, despite his stoic behavior was actually very pleased with his team. He knew teamwork and chemistry had a great deal of importance and his team coexisted well. He had combination moves with both his teammates and sensei. He was actually fond of Naruto and Hinata as they didn't looked down at him due to his kikaichū, nor tried to change his personality. Asuma was a good sensei too, always teaching him something new.

Asuma was happy with his first month as the jonin sensei of Team 10. Shino and Hinata, despite their shyness were attentive and always respected him. He kept finding new methods to train them as he was still learning how to train his genin properly. But working Naruto was a different thing, the blond was always pushing his limits harder and harder to help his teammates and village and Asuma felt proud to be a part of his development as a shinobi and as a person as well. Seven years ago, when he left Konoha after breaking up with Kurenai, Asuma envisioned himself becoming a loner, as he threw away his only shot at love. Now, seeing Naruto achieve by himself things, that were denied so harshly by the village, on his own Asuma felt himself being able to try to make up for his actions in the past. He started spending more time with his family, and more than once contemplated asking Kurenai for forgiveness, but he was still afraid of being rejected to do it. Naruto was like a son he never asked to have, but now he couldn't be happier to have him in his life, and he hoped that in a near future his son/little brother would be his best man should Kurenai accept him back in her life.

* * *

Team 10 was on Hokage office for an important milestone, today was their first C-ranked mission. The one month training program by Asuma clearly prepared the team well for anything that should come. Actually the team was long ready for C-ranks, but Asuma decided to hold this up as he feared that by having two clan heirs, one of them being already a target for an abduction attempt, and the Kyūbi jinchūriki could always attract undesired attention.

Asuma walked into his father office, with his team trailing him, Naruto leading the genin, with Shino in the middle and Hinata behind.

"Team 10 reporting for a C-ranked mission." Asuma said in a formal tone

"Very well, hmm, let's see what we have… hmmm… perfect." Hiruzen said whilst looking for a C-rank in pile of scrolls. As he opened the scroll, he began to read it aloud.

"Well this is a formal mission request by the merchant guild of Konoha, apparently they want a team to head to Tanzaku Town to pick some important merchandise and bring it back to Konoha."

"What kind of merchandise?" Asuma asked

"Fine silk."

"Well, we accept the mission." Asuma said before turning to his genins "Pack for two weeks, better to be safe than sorry, and meet me at the Northern Gate in three hours.

* * *

Naruto quickly put together his things on a backpack in less than one hour. With his free time he decided to stop by at the Higarashi's Weapons to see if his custom made katana was ready. Naruto didn't focused that much on kenjutsu training during the last month, but he kept doing the exercises that Yugaō and Hayate assigned to him, so he felt that having the katana ready for his first mission outside the village was a good idea. As he reached the store he was greeted by a girl wearing a Chinese style dress with brown hair styled in two buns.

"Welcome to Higarashi's Weapons. How may I help you?" the girl asked

"Hello I came to see if the order I placed is ready."

"Ok, what's your name?"

"Naruto Uzumaki."

"I'll go check at the storage, feel free to take a look at the products while I'm gone."

Naruto then looked around, he had to admit that Higarashi's had an impressive display. Since he had already bought his outfit and weapons during his last trip he didn't felt like replenishing his stocks, but decided to buy some explosive tags and flashbangs just in case. As he kept glancing around at the store he noticed some slightly different kunais, similar in shape when compared to the regular kunais, but the metal it was made shined a lot, unlike the blackened metal of the regular version.

"Those are chakra metal kunais, you can flow your chakra through it to add its properties although you need to know nature transformation to do so." The girl came back, holding a katana

"I do." Naruto replied much to the girl's surprise

"How, aren't you a freshly minted genin?"

"Yes, but I had a good teacher." Naruto said smiling

"I wish I had your luck." the girl said sighing

"Why? Your sensei is a total lazy ass who usually arrives four hours late to the training."

Meanwhile a silver haired jonin sneezed while reading his orange book of smut.

" _I think I forgot something, is it my team training? Nah. I would remember that…"_

He mused before resuming his reading.

"No, but I wish my team was a bit more normal. I have the two weirdest guys of Konoha in my team."

"Is that bad?" Naruto asked with a look of solidarity

As in a clue, a boy around Naruto's age appeared. The boy was… …. … …. …. … … well Naruto couldn't find a word to describe the boy. He had huge black eyes, a black shiny bowl cut hair. And wore a green spandex. However his most prominent detail were his eyebrows. They weren't some eyebrows, they were THE eyebrows.

"YOSH Tenten, would you like to join me on my youthful laps around the village to brighten our flames of youth?

"Not now Lee, I'm busy." Tenten said giving a 'this answers your question?' look to Naruto who just winced in sympathy.

"Sorry, I believe we weren't properly introduced" Lee said looking to Naruto. "I am Konoha's Beautiful Green Wild Beast — Rock Lee!" Lee exclaimed giving his nice guy pose

Naruto sweatdropped at Lee's antic before composing himself, "Nice to meet you , I'm Naruto Uzumaki." He said extending his hand, offering Lee a handshake that the genin quickly accepted.

"Tell me Naruto, would you like to have a youthful spar?" Lee asked only to be cut off by Tenten.

"Don't bother him Lee" she said before turning to Naruto and handling him the katana. "Your order is ready, it's a very beautiful sword, you use kenjutsu?"

"Yes, I've been training under Hayate Gekkō for a month now." Naruto explained

"I see, would you like anything else?"

"Actually yes, I will take ten explosive tags and three flashbangs, also I will buy a set of the chakra metal kunais." Naruto said before turning to Lee.

"About our spar, I'm leaving on a mission today, but we should definitively spar sometime, I usually hang around Training Ground 14, so you can always look for me there." Naruto said before paying Tenten and leaving the store.

* * *

Naruto was admiring his new katana while he waited for his teammates, he was early since he packed up quickly. The Katana had the traditional shape, the only notable thing being the slightly dark colored metal the sword was made, being a mid-tone between black and grey. The handle was a simplistic black one, with bronze engravings. Basically a good katana, that stood into the effective but not flashy category. He was brought out of his musings as he heard a male voice.

"Yo, Naruto!"

Naruto turned only to see Choji waving to him.

"Hey Choji what's up man?" Naruto greeted his friend back with a fist bump.

"Nothing too much man , just coming back from a D-rank outside the village."

"I see, so where's Shikamaru and Ino?"

Choji opened his mouth to speak only to be interrupted by an angry female voice.

"CHOJI. You left us behind damnit." That was Ino and she was angry, however after noticing who Choji was talking to, she quickly changed tones. "Hi, Naruto-kun." She said in a much calmer and sweet voice.

"Hi Ino-chan." Naruto greeted back causing his fellow blonde to blush with his use of the affectionate term.

"Ino…Choji… you guys are troublesome." Shikamaru said, joining the group, before turning back to Naruto. "'Sup Naruto?" he said greeting the blond in another fist bump.

"I'm fine, how you doing Shikamaru?" Naruto asked

"Tired, those missions are troublesome." The Nara proclaimed causing the rest of his team and Naruto to sweatdrop.

"Shikamaru, everything is troublesome to you." A raven haired woman in her mid-twenties said. She was extremely beautiful and her red eyes were extremely exotic.

"And you are?" she said turning to Naruto, actually she knew who he was, but she asked him out of formality.

"Naruto Uzumaki, pleased to meet you." Naruto said offering his hand for a handshake

"Nice to meet you Naruto, I'm Kurenai Yūhi, jonin sensei of Team 8." She introduced herself, shaking Naruto's hand.

"Hey Naruto what are you doing later? Kurenai said she would treat us to lunch would you mind tagging along?" Ino asked " _Please say yes."_

"I'd love to" Naruto began causing Ino's face to lit up "but I can't I'm leaving for a mission today." Naruto explained.

"Oh… I see…" Ino said sadly

"Naruto you're on Asuma's team right?" Kurenai asked , proceeding as Naruto nodded in affirmative. "How are you finding things so far?" Kurenai whilst still angry at Asuma still had a great deal of curiosity and even some leftover admiration to the bearded jonin.

"Oh, it's great, Asuma-sensei is great and my team is nice too. Actually today we're leaving in our first C-rank." Naruto explained happily.

Kurenai raised an eyebrow at this "Aren't you a bit inexperienced for this? Usually genin teams wait 2 months before going for C-ranks." That was more a statement than an actual question.

"Yes, but Asuma-sensei trained us, and " Naruto said, before flashing one of his rare true smiles, causing Ino to blush and Kurenai and the rest of the team to smile too. "he said he trust us."

"I see, good luck your mission then. Let's go team." Kurenai said. Choji and Shikamaru again fist bumped Naruto and Ino, much to her team and Naruto's surprise gave him a quick kiss on the cheek, causing Naruto to blush, before whispering for him to be careful.

* * *

The trip to Tanzaku was quite uneventful, as the group didn't had any problems of any sorts. When they reached Tanzaku Town the genin were marveled, it was smaller than Konoha but much more vibrant. After helping the Ichiraku's and buying his shinobi apparel Naruto still had about 30,000 ryō to spend so he decided to go shopping. It's not everyday that he had the chance to visit a different town. At Konoha civilian merchants would always overprice or even refuse to sell to him, he countered that using his modified version of the Henge, that made superficial changes instead of casting just an illusion. However he still disliked buying from the civilians as he would be funding their business. So with his day off, as the silk shop that had the merchandise was already closed, Naruto decided to buy some civilian and some formal outfits as he might need them sometime. He was making his way towards the shopping district when he stopped dead in his tracks at the sight of a casino.

" _Might as well give it a try."_ Naruto said before entering the building.

One hour later and 40,000 ryō richer, Naruto finally went shopping. He bought some plain civilian clothing and two fine yukatas. While still having 50,000 ryō to spend he decided to shop for gifts for his team. For Asuma he got a cigarette pack imported from the Land of Tobacco, for Shino a highly updated bug encyclopedia and for Hinata a big supply of gourmet Cinnamon Buns.

After giving his presents to his greatly pleased teammates, Naruto revised his accounts. He, despite all his spending, closed the day with a 5,000 ryō profit.

" _Well I guess I should gamble more often."_

Team 10 was midway on his way back to Konoha. They've been traveling for four days so far, carrying the silk back to Konoha. The silk was distributed on three large metal crates, that the Naruto clones dutifully carried. They weren't having problems so far as the presence of a jonin strongly discouraged common bandits to attack the team. However they were being followed…

"Naruto, Hinata, Shino, keep the crates safe." Asuma said before a group of twenty men jumped from above, circling the team.

Using his sensoring abilities Naruto said. "The four in front of Asuma are chunin level the rest is low genin."

"Well leave the chunin to me, Hinata, protect the crates, Naruto and Shino, please subdue the others."

As the team took their stances the fight begun.

Hinata dutifully knocked out two bandits that were stupid enough to attack first. Asuma kept the four chunin at bay, whilst using an opening to knock one of them out. Meanwhile Shino and Naruto's bug dispersion combo made short work of eight unaware bandits.

As the fight progressed, Team 10 clearly was sailing away as the victors, the crates remained untouched and the genin level bandits were knocked out. Of the four chunin, only one remained and he was being cornered by Asuma.

"You know, I may have lost the battle, but I'll win the war." He said throwing a handful of dirt into Asuma's eyes, temporally paralyzing the jonin.

Then instead of fleeing he charged quickly at Hinata, with full intent to kill.

Naruto watched the scene and realized that Hinata wouldn't be able to defend herself in time. He also couldn't get in the way as he lacked speed. Steeling his resolve he knew he could only do one thing to save Hinata. Getting one of the chakra metal kunais from his pouch he infused wind chakra onto it, before throwing towards the enemy charging at Hinata.

The speeded up kunai pierced the enemy neck, leaving a gruesome trail of blood on the ground. The bandit was dead before his body hit the ground as his neck was severed by the attack, and his head was almost detached from the rest of his body courtesy of the wind nature chakra.

* * *

Asuma recovered to see a paralyzed Hinata looking away from the deceased enemy body, clearly shocked. Shino stood far from his two teammates still shaken by the turn of events and his inability to help his teammates. Finally Naruto was kneeling on the ground staring at the enemy. Asuma deduced that this was his first kill due to his shaking. As Hinata started crying and Shino went to console her. Asuma heard muttering from Naruto.

"I killed him…I killed him…I killed him…" Naruto kept repeating as in trance.

Asuma quickly disposed of the bodies with a fire jutsu, before glancing at Naruto again.

" _Naruto's clearly shaken by his first kill, I wish I could talk to him now but we're still on mission."_

* * *

"Hey Naruto, walk with me for a second." Asuma said as the team finished reporting the success of its first C-rank mission to the Hokage.

"Okay…" Naruto said in a emotionless tone. It hurt Asuma to see that kids had to kill so early and yet more how killing affected Naruto's confident personality.

The duo kept walking, ignoring the hated glares from the villagers. Asuma was beyond angry with the way the boy he began to see as his son was treated but Naruto didn't seemed to care, he was already used to it and still thinking about his first kill.

They stopped at the Hokage Mountain Monument, sitting at the Sandaime's head.

"So, how are you feeling?"

"I killed him Asuma-sensei, I took a man's life, I perhaps made another innocent kid an orphan like myself."

"Yes you killed him but you liked killing him?"

"No." Naruto said with a weak voice tone

"Naruto, we're shinobi, we have to kill, it's part of our job, you did well."

"But still, I've been unable to sleep for two days, everytime I close my eyes I see him. I didn't even knew his name."

"Well when I first killed I was your age, I threw up and had nightmares for weeks. Feeling sadness for taking a life is what makes us human not tools." Asuma explained.

"But still…" Naruto tried to argument

"Naruto, if you didn't intervened Hinata would be dead, so tell me: who deserved to die? A twelve years old girl on her first mission outside the village or a bandit who wouldn't feel guilt in killing?"

Naruto's answer both surprised and made his jonin teacher proud: "Nobody, nobody deserves to be killed without having the chance to defend themselves."

Asuma smiled at the genin. "But the world isn't fair, remember that." He said before taking a pause. "The greatest shinobi in history had to kill, but how they handled it made them really special. The Sandaime Raikage, hailed as the strongest Raikage in history, once fought ten thousand enemies alone for three straight days. He died in this battle, but probably killed thousands of enemies that day, why he kept fighting after killing all those people ? Because by doing this he allowed his comrades to live."

"The Yondaime Hokage was the biggest hero of Konoha, during the Third Shinobi War he decimated the forces of Iwa in a single day. I knew him, and he wasn't a sadistic killer, so why did he abide of his values and killed thousands of shinobi, making orphans and widows in the process? Because it was needed, by doing this he prevented his fellow Konoha shinobi from dying unnecessary deaths."

"Naruto, the world we live is sick, I don't expect you ever to feel happy to kill someone despite they deserved or not. But we're shinobi, we must always think of the best for our village. Death and killing are always part of shinobi life, how you deal with those feelings determines your value as a shinobi and determines the success of your missions. If you fail a mission you would be putting your friends and your village in danger, so you must get used to killing, so your precious people wouldn't die. I'm not saying that it's right or ideal, but this is how we are forced to live."

Naruto was speechless at Asuma's display of wisdom, all he said was true and whilst he killed a enemy he did that to protect Hinata. If Hinata was killed he would be even more shaken. Naruto then realized, there are no ideals on the shinobi world, and the only way you have to keep yourself and your loved people safe is to be getting stronger. So he vowed to become the strongest and perhaps someday change the dynamics of the world.

He was broken off of his thoughts as Asuma patted his shoulder, offering him one of his cigarettes. As Naruto raised an eyebrow at the jonin, he explained:

"Old enough to kill, old enough to smoke."

Naruto knew this was the way Asuma had to bond with his important people, and knowing he was one of those important people made Naruto happy.

"Thanks Asuma-sensei." Naruto said before accepting the cigarette and displaying his first sincere smile since he came back.

* * *

 **Author's notes:** A regular sized chapter per my standards, where we have some development on Naruto and Asuma relationship, the formal introduction of Tenten and Rock Lee and finally a NaruIno moment.

Since I updated pretty quickly, there weren't any questions to be answered, so I'd like to talk about the role of some characters in this story.

Inoichi Yamanaka: I am looking forward to writing about him, he will play a big role in this story alongside with his fellow partners Shikaku Nara and Choza Akimichi.

Sakura Haruno: If you are wondering about the lack of NaruSaku moments so far, Sakura is currently at the Land of Waves, and Naruto is still at Konoha. I believe we will have some NaruSaku early in the chunin exams arc.

Chunin Exams Arc: I've decided to add two important missions and a chapter with some romance to the timeline, so my guess is that the Chunin Exams Arc will begin in 3 to 5 chapters. I can anticipate that there'll be some new faces during the exam too.

Kurenai and Asuma: I plan on writing about them on the romance chapter I mentioned above.

Hinata: She isn't discarded from the harem, but if she joins she will join during shippuden, not early, i'm doing this so the chunin exams timeline wouldn't be too "crowded"

Finally for the identity of the third girl: *insert drumroll sound effect* Karin Uzumaki.


	8. Clash in the Land of Tea

**Disclaimer:** I don't own Naruto or any of its characters.

Check the end of the chapter for Author Notes and a brief glossary.

* * *

The month after Asuma and Naruto's talk at the Hokage Rock was pretty uneventful. Team 10 kept progressing, with Shino almost mastering the _Mushi Bunshin no Juts (_ Insect Clone Technique _)_ and Hinata making steady progress with her Jūken variant. Naruto took some time to help and bond with his teammates. As Shino's technique was an Aburame Clan secret jutsu Naruto wasn't able to help very much, only giving him a few pointers. Hinata however greatly appreciated Naruto's help. Naruto, according to Asuma was at least low chunin level in taijutsu and his natural adaptability in reading other styles and quickly developing counters helped with the defensive part of Hinata's taijutsu. Besides that Naruto was able, by analyzing Hinata's Jūken, to develop a bastardized version of her style, Naruto knew that he would never be able to use it in an actual combat as he couldn't see the opponent's _tenketsu_ but this was useful with Hinata's training as she was keeping her new style a secret from her clan.

Naruto himself developed greatly, as he used his new shadow clone method to multiply his progress. He completed the third stage of the Fūton manipulation and was now, by Asuma's words a: "accomplished Fūton user". Asuma kept his promise and taught Naruto a B-rank jutsu. The _Fūton: Shinkūgyoku_ (Wind Release: Vacuum Sphere). The jutsu name was very self-explanatory, by expelling Fūton chakra through his mouth, the user fired vacuum projectiles at his opponent, causing fatal damage. Asuma explained to Naruto that despite the "Sphere" in his name, the _Fūton: Shinkūgyoku_ can be released in cylindrical shape as well, covering a bigger directional range, but losing potency and some reach.

After the third stage there was no other formal stages, but Asuma suggested an exercise where Naruto should cut the flow of a river using wind natured chakra in his palms. Naruto managed to cut a river and now was working in cutting a waterfall. However during the last few weeks Naruto set aside his Fūton training to focus on his taijutsu with Asuma.

Seeing that Naruto's flexibility and adaptability were both the strongest and weakest points of his taijutsu. Asuma worked in adding few of his own defensive moves to this style, whilst keeping Naruto's acrobatic and unconventional moves and evasions. The result was a completely new style: The _Suraiken_ (Slicing Fist). The key component of this new style was incorporating Asuma's chakra blades in it, giving Naruto a literal cutting edge above his opponents. The chakra blades were Asuma's personal present to Naruto after he learnt that the boy never celebrated his birthday because of the "fox hunts" the village organized. Naruto explained that whilst he could defend himself he would usually stay at home sleeping as he felt that during this particular day, the shinobi and civilians would be even more susceptible to hostile attempts against him and he didn't wanted to get his few precious people, like the Ichiraku's and Konohamaru, in it. Asuma was extremely angry with the villagers behavior and promised that Naruto would never ever need to hide during his own birthday again.

The _Suraiken_ was a still work in progress, as Naruto had still to master the fundamentals of Asuma's training and had yet to properly perform the _Hien_ (Flying Swallow), that would be the style's main offensive weapon as the extended edge of the knives could easily surprise the opponent.

During this one month period Naruto took an interest for non-smut books and began to read them. Upon one of his diggings at the Hokage library he found an old story book about Shinobi Clans. Much to his surprise, he found out that the Uzumaki was a clan in Uzushiogakure. Questioning the Hokage he learn that Uzushiogakure and Konohagakure had an extremely close relationship with Mito Uzumaki being the Shodaime's wife, also the Uzumaki and Senju being distant blood relatives and finally with the Uzumakis providing much of Konoha's barrier ninjutsu and fūinjutsu. The Hokage also explained that the Uzumaki Clan symbol was emblazoned in most of Konoha's chunin and jonin outfits as a symbol of friendship between the two villages. Naruto briefly remembered studying about Uzushiogakure in the academy's history classes, but the Uzumaki name was never mentioned, probably due to the "extremely professional teachers, that didn't knew the difference between a kunai and a scroll" as Naruto often called them. This knowledge prompted Naruto to do a mass sweep on all the available history books Konoha had. After some book grinding with the help of the shadow clones, Naruto discovered that Uzushiogakure was famed for its fūinjutsu, being destroyed by a joint attack of Kiri, Iwa and Kumo, that feared their alliance with Konoha.

Naruto was, of course, sad in knowing that his ancestor's village was destroyed by a coward act like that, despite not doing actually anything to deserve their hate. In his mind Naruto also made a relation of his and Uzushiogakure's histories as similar ones. As both him and the village were hostilized by things that actually weren't under his control. A younger Naruto would probably have sweared to avenge his Clan's village, but the matured Naruto knew better. Avenging Uzushiogakure wouldn't rebuild the village nor bring back the people that were killed in his downfall. Also this happened at least thirty years ago, before the start of the Third Shinobi World War and if he attacked any of those villages he would be dooming people who had nothing to do with Uzushiogakure's destruction with death. If he really felt pleasure in doing that he would be no better than the civilians that he so much despised.

So Naruto made a choice, he would restore the Uzumaki clan to its greatness. And this time they wouldn't be taken down so easily.

Keen on this goal he asked the Sandaime to teach him Fūinjutsu, as it was the trademark of the Uzumaki Clan. The Hokage explained that his duties made him unable to properly focus on Naruto, but explained that his pupil, Jiraya of the Sannin would be coming to Konoha shortly he would ask him to teach Naruto. In order to cut Jiraya's work, Hiruzen gave Naruto calligraphy books, which would be the base of his fūinjutsu, as it required perfect writing, and a basic scroll on fūinjutsu that covered basic concepts like sealing scrolls and explosive tags. Needless to say that after this Naruto pretty much isolated himself from the outer world and diligently worked in his calligraphy, only leaving his apartment to training and his traditional FNRF (Friday Night Ramen Fun).

Despite his diligence and his sheer amount of clones, Naruto, due to his several trainings and studies wasn't able to attend any more kenjutsu practices with Hayate. The blond knew that sometime in the future he would have actually to set a proper focus on a goal, instead of trying to accomplish all of his objectives simultaneously. Right now he felt that kenjutsu wasn't something that important, but he promised himself to work to catch up with his kenjutsu after finishing the _Suraiken_ and properly learning Fūinjutsu.

Regarding his team and his previous talk with Asuma, Naruto felt like him and his teammates matured greatly. Asuma liked the team performance on its first C-ranked mission, and decided to prepare during a month to properly complete any kind of C-ranked they might face. The killing aspect was always worrying as Asuma was training a group of twelve year olds, so in a risky but successful move, he got Naruto to lecture his teammates about his experience on the first kill. The move could have backfired greatly, but by making the blond genin confide his feelings to his teammates, not only Naruto was able to ease his mind but also helped his team to prepare to a situation where they would have to kill.

* * *

"Team 10 reporting for a C-ranked mission, Hokage-sama." Asuma said in a somewhat formal manner.

"Well, I was wondering where you would come." The Hokage said, unsurprised, before taking a scroll of his robes and throwing it to Asuma.

"This is a formal request from the Wasabi family, of the Land of Tea, one of the countries that share a border with the Land of Fire. Apparently the Wasabi family is fighting for the control of Degarashi Port, an important harbor city, with his rivals, the Wagarashi family. In order to prevent unnecessary bloodshed, one of the Land of Tea Daimyo's ministers decided to organize a race that would define the controller of the city. Therefore your mission is to escort the Wasabi runner and prevent any hostile attempts taken by the Wagarashi. The scroll states that it's probable that the Wagarashi hired shinobi, making this a high C-rank, if not a B-ranked mission." The Hokage explained, causing Hinata and Shino's eyes to widen and Naruto to gulp nervously. "Usually I would assemble a team of chunin to this mission, but I already dispatched a squad of five to help Team 7 with their mission on the Land of Waves and I honestly have great faith in this team, so I'm making an exception here."

Asuma glanced towards his team, with Naruto, Sino and finally Hinata nodding their heads.

"We accept the mission."

* * *

The one week travel to Land of Tea happened without any real inconvenience and Team 10 soon reached his destination. Degarashi Port was an important harbor town, and was prospering greatly due to being a port that had great influx of both Land of Fire and Land of Lightning merchants selling their wares here. Degarashi port was basically consisted of two large islands and a third small one, interconnected by bridges. The Wagarashi family had its base on the eastern island whilst the Wasabi family lived on the western island. In the third and smaller island, that housed the Todoroki Shrine, an important landmark important landmark of the town.

The Wasabi estate was rather big, putting on Konoha standards Naruto would bet that it rivaled the Akimichi estate, the third biggest in the village, losing to the Hyūga and Uchiha compounds. However, despite the size the estate wasn't over lavish like the Hyūga compound was. Of course it was luxurious, but it didn't cross the line of being superfluous. The team was eagerly received by Jirōchō Wasabi, the patriarch and founder of the Wasabi family. Jirōchō was a man on his late fifties, who had Jirōchō slight tanned skin, grey shaggy hair and light black-colored eyes. He welcomed the Team to a meeting room, that followed the pattern of the building, huge and comfortable but not lavish.

"I thank you for coming so promptly, you had any trouble at the road." The patriarch asked.

"No, we didn't faced any kind of trouble." Asuma replied

"Well, I'm thankful for that, but now let's get to business." Jirōchō said firmly. "Recently we managed to gather some intel into the enemies strategy. They hired a genin three man cell from Amegakure that is led by a jonin from the same village."

"I see, any information about the name of the jonin?"

"Unfortunately, no."

"Now concerning our internal affairs… The daimyo's is doing everything he can to grant the victory to the Wagarashi, so we expect him to be a nuisance to the fairness of the race as well."

"Hmm… no offence Jirōchō-sama, but he's the daimyo, so why he doesn't just throw shit in the air and relinquish the control to the Wagarashi?" Naruto asked trying to be polite

"Well, he's totally corrupt but being tyrannical is always not well regarded, so to not be seen as a tyrant by the people of Degarashi Port, I believe he's giving us a "chance." Jirōchō explained.

"Daimyo of the Land of Tea…" Asuma mumbled to himself "Ichiro… Ichiro Oda…". "Jirōchō-san, is the current daimyo Ichiro Oda?"

"Yes."

"Sorry but I don't think he's corrupt." As Jirōchō and the rest of Team 10 raised their eyebrows, Asuma proceeded. "I served for seven years on the Twelve Guardian Ninja of the Fire Daimyo, so I attended several of those formal meetings with Daimyos from the Elemental Nations. Due to the proximity of the nations and the important trade value of the tea that your country provided, the meetings between the Daimyo of the Land of Fire and Land of Tea were held each two months. Doing a quick math I attended a total of 42 meeting with Ichiro Oda, usually being confined with him for several hours. My point is that during those meetings Oda usually came out as a very polite and humble person and I don't think that was an act." Asuma explained, impressing the meeting room with his knowledge.

"So what you're saying is that…" Jirōchō said only to be cut off by Naruto.

"Councilors." Naruto said before realizing his gaffe and casted an apologetic look to Jirōchō, who just nodded, signaling him to continue. "I think that some of his councilors might be doing those acts behind his back." Naruto finished his reasoning.

The blond genin had a deep knowledge of this, he was extremely close to Hokage and early in his years he observed the Sandaime in several meetings, the man was fair, just and yet commanding, all of the qualities a good leader should have, whilst by observing the elders, the civilian council and even some shinobi clans, he noted that they acted totally different to the Sandaime image. Naruto was brought out of his musings as he heard the voice of Asuma.

"I believe Naruto might be correct, during those meetings I noted that some of Oda's ministers and councilors acted in a dubious manner."

"Wow… that's a lot to take in…" Jirōchō exclaimed before glancing towards Asuma and Naruto and questioning them. "Do you have any suggestion for this issue?"

Asuma took his turn to speak . "I believe we should directly talk to the daimyo about this. If somehow a fight breaks in between my team and Wagarashi's agents, I believe the corrupted ministers can somehow distort the facts to weaken your political position in Degarashi."

"I see…"

"A couple of years ago Oda offered me a job in his personal guard , I could use this offer to be able to meet him in private and tell him to personally attend the race so attempts to sabotage the race can be discouraged." Asuma explained, causing Naruto and Jirōchō to nod. The rest of the team also nodded. "So it's decided: tomorrow morning I will leave to the capital and convince the daimyo. I will be gone for one week, so I will be putting Naruto in charge of the mission, any objections?"

As the Team promptly agreed with the choice, causing Naruto to smile happily as his teammates trusted him, the plan was set on motion.

* * *

The next day Naruto woke and had a quick meeting with Asuma before he left for the capital of the Land of Tea. The meeting lasted about one hour, during which Asuma explained the leadership role to Naruto and assured him about his trust in said boy's abilities.

After the meeting was over, Naruto meet his team. He decided to do some scouting alongside his team should the Wagarashi tried to make an ambush near the Wasabi compound. After the recon was complete, Naruto and his team were making their way to their respective rooms, but they were stopped by a servant who said that Jirōchō requested Naruto's presence in the meeting room.

Getting back into the vast room, Naruto was greeted by Jirōchō, who sat in a ceremonial tea table that consisted of two embroidered futons and a fine wood table that stood only about twenty centimeters above the ground. Above the table there was a teapot with boiling tea, who Naruto deduced that was just ready and two teacups cups. Taking the gestured seat, Naruto addressed the leader.

"Jirōchō-sama, you asked to see me?"

"Yes, I indeed asked. It's regarding your mission, I just received more detailed intel about the shinobi the Wagarashi hired." He said before handling Naruto four separate papers.

The genin then analyzed the intel:

Oboro Imada, male genin from Amegakure. Spiky brown hair and dark eyes. Wears yellow stitched jumpsuit, an Ame Hitai-ate a rebreather and a white sash around his face with eyeholes cut out.

Mubi Katabuchi, male genin from Amegakure. Spots the Ame Hitai-ate, yellow stitched jumpsuit, rebreather and a white sash that covers his upper face, leaving his right eye covered.

Kagari Sugimura, male genin from Amegakure. Spiky brown hair. Spots the Ame Hitai-ate, yellow stitched jumpsuit, rebreather and has a white sash in his upper head covering his eyes

Those three were genin, and, according to the mission data they had registered, weak ones.

The last paper however caught Naruto's attention: Aoi Rokushō, jonin from Amegakure. Naruto had already heard this name before, and he suspected where he heard it. His assumption were confirmed when he opened his bingo book:

* * *

 **Aoi Rokushō** , wanted by Konoha for stealing the _Raijin no Ken_ (Sword of the Thunder God), the sword that originally belonged to the Nidaime Hokage Tobirama Senju and killing two ANBU, besides torturing another shinobi.

 **Appearance:** Wavy, neck length, green hair. Purple eyes. Fair skin. Stands 5'10" tall (182.5 cm).

 **Affiliation:** Konohagakure no Sato. (former, nukenin)

 **Rank:** Chunin.

 **Bounty:**

 **Alive** : 750,000 ryō. (Konohagakure no Sato.)

 **Dead:** 500,000 ryō. (Konohagakure no Sato.)

* * *

Naruto's eyebrows raised and his eyes widened slightly. He handled the bingo book to Jirōchō, who after reading the entry on the book had the same reaction as Naruto.

"Naruto-kun, that changes a lot of things." He said before turning to one of his servants "Tell Idate I called him here."

After few minutes the man Naruto presumed was Idate showed up to the meeting room. Idate had black hair, tied in a spiked ponytail and grey eyes. He wore a plain white long-sleeved shirt with a blue sleeveless vest above it. He also had blue shorts that matched his vest.

Naruto would guess that the man was no older than 16.

"Idate-kun, meet your escort, Naruto Uzumaki of Konoha."

Idate leered at the Konoha Hitai-ate before putting out a clearly fake smile.

"Pleased to meet you."

"Naruto-kun and I were talking about the enemy shinobi, when we learned this." He said throwing the opened bingo book to Idate.

Idate's expression soon changed from the fake smile to anger, and then to utter terror. He continued to look at the book for a few minutes, Naruto could clearly see his eyes widening, and his mouth gaping, as the man tried to form words in a unsuccessful manner. Then he finally managed to blab a few words and if weren't for the chakra that Naruto concentrated in his ears he wouldn't be able to comprehend them.

"Shit…I…need…to flee." He said with a terrified expression.

Naruto glanced around the room and saw that Jirōchō had a sympathetic expression.

"Is there something I don't know?" Naruto inquired

"No… we've told everything you should know." Jirōchō replied nervously. Naruto wasn't convinced, so trying his best to emulate the Asuma's tone of voice that would subconsciously send an "I'm cool but don't keep shit away from me." message, Naruto insisted.

"Jirōchō-sama, we were hired to safely escort Idate-san here during the race. If you keep things away from me you will only be threatening the safety of Idate." "Besides that…" Naruto said leaking some killing intent to emphasize his next point. "… if my team gets hurt because of something you've hidden from us "… well, let's say that Idate's safety won't be your only concern. Actually I might add that if you get on my bad side, anyone's safety will be the last of your concerns." Naruto said in a serious and somewhat darker voice, before shifting again to a fake cheerful tone. "So I'm going to ask again, there's something I don't know?"

"Hmmm… you see…" Jirōchō replied nervously before glancing towards an equally terrified Idate, who nodded. "Idate-kun here was a shinobi of Konoha once…" he developed only to be cut by Idate's voice.

"It's my story. I believe I should be the one to tell him. I was a genin of Konoha, but I failed the chunin exams with my team and because of some rules, we failed and forbidden of taking part of another chunin exams. I was outraged, but then my academy instructor said that if I managed to steal the Raijin no Ken and a forbidden scroll I would be acknowledged with the rank of Chunin. I did as he told, but he betrayed me and almost killed my brother. After that I had to flee Konoha and live as an outlaw. Until Jirōchō-sama took me under his wing at the Wasabi clan. Needless to say that this academy instructor name is Aoi Rokushō." Idate said in a mix of sadness, anger and most of all fear.

"I see, if you're worried about me ditching you to Konoha you have my promise that I won't do anything. Now what I really want to know is about Rokushō's skillset, is there anything that makes him stronger?"

"When he taught me at academy he was a regular instructor, he was good with throwing weapons but nothing above average. But now he has the Raijin no Ken, and this sword makes him invincible."

"How so?" Naruto asked curiously

"It's a chakra blade, so he can perform jutsu with them, besides it was once wielded by the Nidaime, what ensures the quality of the sword."

"Well, now we only have to make sure he won't be able to use the blade then." Naruto said confidently before getting up. "I'll give my team those reports."

* * *

During the next four days the team escorted Idate while he trained for the race. Naruto had to admit that the former shinobi was extremely fast would easily defeat him in a race, a notable feat as Naruto recognized himself at the top tier regarding speed when compared to other academy graduates.

Those four days were extremely tense because Naruto knew that word of his team arrival would come to the Wagarashi and they would probably attack soon. Naruto during those four days was secretly worried, he didn't had much information of the Raijin no Ken sword but by the quick description Idate gave him he knew that he would face some serious trouble. Naruto, when strategizing with his decided that in case of an enemy attack Shino and Hinata would handle the genin whilst he would face Aoi Rokushō alone. The team obviously protested as they didn't wanted to see him fighting alone against a jonin opponent but Naruto remembered that if he went to fight the genin team alongside them Idate would be vulnerable and if he decided to engage Aoi with his team help he would be putting them on harm's way and still leaving Idate vulnerable.

The team was escorting Idate back from his training run near a cliff, surrounded by sea when Naruto felt four chakra signatures trailing them.

"They're here." He said before turning to Shino. "Shino, you're now the leader. You and Hinata should escort Idate to safety, I will engage Aoi here." Shino just nodded, before taking off, leaving Naruto alone.

* * *

Not even a minute later, the enemy shinobi showed up.

"Look what we have here boys. The kid's playing the hero. Go after the target, I'll kill him in a very painful way." Aoi said grinning.

Naruto stared at the three Ame genin leaving the forest towards the direction Shino and Hinata went .

" _Please be fine, guys."_ Naruto thought to himself before turning towards his opponent and entering battle instance.

* * *

"I must say or you're very brave or you're very stupid to face a jonin alone like that." Idate commented causing Naruto to chuckle.

"I'd say I'm a bit of both." Naruto said, unsheathing his katana and holding it in a reverse grip.

"Well, don't worry, when I'm finished people only will see the fool in your lifeless body." Aoi said before unsealing a umbrella and throwing it upwards.

" _Jouro Senbon_ (Senbon Shower)"

The thrown umbrella started to rotate quickly and released a rain of senbon covering all directions.

" _Fūton: Daitoppa_ (Wind Release: Great Breakthrough)" Naruto called before breathing a gust of wind that defected the senbon directed towards him. Taking the opening Naruto rushed forward.

" _Mikazuki no Mai_ (Dance of the Crescent Moon)" Then the blond jinchūriki jolted in a burst of speed, creating afterimages in the process and penetrating Aoi's guard.

Aoi the used a kunai to block a point blank range attack on his front. To his surprise, Naruto just vanished before jumping from behind, with his katana in a slicing motion. With quick reflexes Aoi did a backflip and used his umbrella that was strapped on his back to block the incoming strike. Having failed his offensive Naruto quickly withdrew to a mid-range distance, where he felt more comfortable.

Aoi noticed this. "Oh, you're not running away." He said before throwing the umbrella that he used to block the katana strike above and yelled.

" _Jouro Senbon_ (Senbon Shower)"

This time the umbrella had even more senbon, which had a purple color, and rotated faster.

Naruto narrowed his eyes.

" _Is that poison? This time it is also spinning quicker too. I won't be able to deflect them like I deflected the others."_

The jinchūriki then used the cross handseal to form two clones, which propelled the original upwards. Then the real Naruto flashed the Tiger, Ox, Dog, Rabbit and Snake handsigns consecutively and started to spin wildly.

" _Fūton: Kaiten Daitoppa_ (Wind Release: Rotating Great Breakthrough)." The original Naruto used the momentum he got from the clones to increase his rotation speed and released his jutsu in a manner that could provide a uniform shield around him. It was his very own personal form of defense. The new jutsu worked perfectly as he repelled all of the Senbon

Landing on his feet Naruto glanced to the clearly impressed Aoi and once again took the offensive.

" _Katon: Karyū Endan_ (Fire Release: Fire Dragon Flame Bullet)."

Naruto then manipulated his chakra into two flame dragons, whom charged towards Aoi. The nukenin responded with his own jutsu.

" _Suiton: Suijinheki_ (Water Release: Water Formation Wall)"

Aoi molded his chakra into an pure water wall. The fire dragons collided with the wall and disappeared.

"Not bad, not bad at all. But the child's play ends now. Feel honored that I had to use my full strength to beat you." Aoi said, before drawing a swordless hilt from his belt.

The hilt was aqua blue and his design resembled a vajra. As Naruto raised his eyebrow in question, Aoi snarled and began to channel chakra into the hilt. Then a yellow lightning started to come off from the hilt and started to take form of a sword.

"Raijin no ken… the sword you stole from Konoha."

"Weaklings like Konoha shinobi had no use for a sword like that. With this sword I am invincible." Aoi said in an arrogant manner.

"Well, my sensei says that a sword is as good as its swordsman. Today I'm finally going to see who's right." Naruto said unsheathing his katana again.

Aoi took the initiative, closed distance with the genin and started to attack him with horizontal slashes. Naruto opted to dodge the strikes rather than engaging the jonin in a clash of swords. Naruto's small frame finally paid its benefits as the genin was able to dodge the first wave of attacks easily, but wasn't able to find any opening for a counterattack.

After being initially outmaneuvered by the jinchūriki, Aoi started to throw more incisive attacks and with increased speed. As he faked a horizontal attack to Naruto's torso, the genin prematurely propelled his own body backwards, giving the renegade the opening he needed as he brought his sword in a diagonal upwards attack. As the attack was coming from his left, Naruto could only extend his katana, that he held in his right hand to timely bock a would be fatal strike to his chest.

But then Naruto felt a numbing sensation in his right arm, which slowly propagated to the rest of his body. Naruto then cursed his stupidity.

" _The Raijin no Ken is a Raiton chakra blade. Metal conducts electricity, it's like I've put my finger in a power plug. A extremely potent power plug that certainly has more than 220 volts."_

Naruto then did the only possible thing he could do, drop the katana. As he did that the numbing sensation became less extreme but was still present. Aoi got the best of his reflexes and threw a left handed punch on the genin's stomach that rocketed Naruto backwards. Aoi took the chance to kick the katana Naruto dropped out of the cliff and to the sea.

"Bastard that Katana was expensive, 10,000 ryō." Naruto said getting up and coughing a bit of blood from the punch.

" _I can't be hit by that sword again, and I can't just dodge strikes. Fūton is strong against Raiton, but I doubt I can create enough distance to fire a Fūton: Shinkūgyoku_ (Wind Release: Vacuum Sphere). _"_

" _To keep things worst my arm keeps trembling from that strike earlier."_

" _If I could only prevent him from using the sword…"_

Then an idea came up to Naruto's mind.

" _Man, I'm a genius…or a idiot… maybe a bit of both."_ Naruto mused, grinning inwardly and quickly developing his plan.

As Aoi walked towards him, Naruto got up and picked a kunai from his holster using his right hand.

" _Gotta see how useful my arm is right now."_

Throwing the kunai, Naruto was surprised as he felt all the numbing go away. The kunai reached a remarkable speed and emitted electricity before getting Aoi off-guard and slicing his right biceps.

" _That was Raiton chakra?_ _I have three elemental affinities?"_ Naruto pondered, surprised by the development of the fight.

"BASTARD. I'LL GET YOU BACK FOR THIS." Aoi yelled.

" _Anyway I have to check this with Asuma-sensei and Hokage-jiji later. Right now I only have one strike."_

Naruto then withdrew the two chakra knives that Asuma gave him as a present. He readied himself before jolting towards Aoi, ready to end the fight, for better or worse.

As he charged forwards he could only clearly see Aoi thrusting the Raijin no Ken towards his heart, but in a somewhat slow motion. It seems that the Raiton infused attack had some effect on him. Naruto now crossed the imaginary line, he knew that after passing this point there was no way to dodge the sword. He then infused chakra into his knives and directed his left one in a diagonal strike towards Aoi's right forearm whilst he raised his right knife hand into the renegade's open guard, targeting his exposed neck.

Naruto realized that he wouldn't be able to reach his target and poured chakra into his knives.

" _HIEN_ (Flying Swallow)"

Naruto felt a hit landing on him and the sound of something landing on the ground, then he felt his vision fading and knew no more.

* * *

The remnants of Team 10 speeded towards where Naruto engaged the enemy. With Shino's kikaichū and Hinata's Byakugan, they easily subdued the enemy and managed to return a unharmed Idate to the Wasabi estate. They were surprised to meet Asuma halfway through as the bearded jonin managed to convince the Tea daimyo to attend the race and, worried about his team managed to be back earlier. Hinata had her Byakugan activated the entire time as she was extremely worried about her longtime crush.

When Hinata loudly gasped before fainting, Asuma and Shino knew something was not right and the jonin promptly caught the passed out Hyūga heiress.

"Shino, full pace ahead." The bearded jonin said not worrying a bit about hiding the concern out of his voice. In those two and a half months he trained Team 10 he began to see Naruto as a friend and truly a son in all but blood, so if anything happened to the blond genin when he was out he wouldn't forgive himself.

The team sprinted for more three minutes before they reached the scene.

Naruto laid in a sea of green and red. The green came from the grass that covered the cliff. The red, the red was blood. Asuma then glanced further, to the source of the blood. The dead corpse of Aoi Rokushō, or what remained of it. His head laid in a corner, separated from the rest of the body. His right arm was sliced off diagonally and laid in another separated corner. The rest of the body, mainly the torso and the remaining three limbs was laid on his back, with blood freely flowing from it.

Asuma lived for twenty seven years, seventeen of which as a shinobi. He completed over seven hundred missions. A true shinobi. During all those years he saw some shit. And hailed by his experience, Asuma looked at the scene.

" _Now, t_ _hat's some fucked up shit."_

He even felt a lump rising his throat, and had to control his urge to vomit. The ever stoic Shino Aburame didn't had the same force and promptly got to his knees and started to throw up.

Asuma kneeled to check Naruto's condition. The blond genin was a bit pale and probably took a slash at his left ribcage. The attack didn't reach any vital points and the Kyubi had already healed the cut. Asuma could only tell that Naruto was hit as he noticed the cut at the boy's clothes.

Naruto suddenly opened his eyes, and saw Asuma kneeling besides him, with a passed out Hinata in his back. Turning his head left he saw Shino vomiting in a corner.

"Hey Asuma-sensei." He said to the bearded jonin, trying to get up, only to be stopped by the man.

"Lay down Naruto, you can still rest, good job by the way." Asuma said using his free hand to lit up a cigarette and offered it to Naruto.

"Thanks." He said accepting a cigarette.

The cigarette became both a bonding thing for the duo and also a ritual of sorts to Naruto to get over having to kill someone. And whilst Naruto still was against killing mercilessly, the past month showed him that this was part of the job.

"Hey sensei." Naruto said getting the attention of the Sarutobi. "This Aoi guy had a bounty on his head, can I take his body to a bounty station? I kind of need the extra money."

"Yes you can, but I think only his head will suffice, I'll seal it in a scroll and then use a Katon jutsu to burn the rest of the body." Asuma explained

Naruto slowly got up and picked up the inactivated Raijin no Ken from the ground.

"Sensei, what about the sword, I'll need to report that I recovered it during the mission?"

"Well, Konoha's laws are contradictory in this case. Whilst they require for you to return any item that belonged to Konoha, they also allow you to keep the belongings of any missing ninja you defeated. I think you should talk with my father about that."

"But I won't report it on the mission report. If that happened the elders and the civilian council would start pestering my father about it. Probably demanding that we gave it to the stuck up Uchiha too." Asuma explained, making joke about Naruto's dislike for the Last Uchiha.

"Yes, that would be bad. The only use he will have for the sword would probably be as an electrical dildo." Naruto said causing Asuma to chuckle. Deep in the background even Shino began to chuckle.

"Now Naruto, being serious for a moment. Good job taking the leadership role while I was gone. You balanced your self-confidence, the trust in your teammates and tactical intelligence to figure out the best way to carry this mission, even if it meant putting out your own life in line. I dare say that you carried this mission as a chunin rather than a genin and being your teacher makes me proud." Asuma said

"Thanks Asuma-sensei, this praise coming up from you means the world to me."

"Now" Asuma said shifting his glance between Naruto and Shino. Let's clean up this mess, if Hinata saw this she would faint again, and I don't want to carry her, again." Asuma joked, but deep inside he was being sincere.

* * *

After fighting Aoi and the Ame genin, the rest of the mission wasn't that hard. They kept escorting Idate, and despite their early clash, Naruto became friends with him, going as far as training with him sometimes. The Land of Tea daimyo attended the race personally and witnessed the Wagarashi attempts to sabotage Idate's progress, being stopped by Team 10. The daimyo noticed that one his ministers was plotting alongside the Wagarashi and ordered his prison and disbanded the Wagarashi family, giving the control of Degarashi Port to the Wasabi family. Team 10 decided to return to Konoha after the celebrations, where they were hailed as Heroes of Degarashi Port for helping the town get rid of the corrupt Wagarashi family. Idate gave Naruto two scrolls, one that he should deliver to the Hokage and one that he should only open before he takes his chunin exams.

As they left they couldn't help but smile knowing that the town was going to be under good leadership and they played a major role in this. Naruto was thinking on the same lines.

" _If I need to kill, to bring peace and stability I'll become a killer. I'm not happy about it but if it is the cost of the peace, I'm more than willing to pay it._

* * *

 **Authors notes:** Well, writing this chapter was hard, and I admit I had to overcome a writer's block. I ended up posting it later than I expected, but I'm happy with the results, this was my longest chapter so far and I dare say that it's so far my best work, my favorite part was the Naruto versus Aoi scene.

Now for the questions and answers:

 **Q:** About the possibility of having Hinata in the harem.

 **A:** It's a very concrete possibility and I'm divided about this one. I like Hinata as a character and enjoy writing some of her scenes with Naruto. On the other hand I think that this pairing is overused and I wanted to write something different. Like I mentioned earlier in some of the previous chapter's notes, the main girls will be Ino, Sakura and Karin, but there's room for two or maybe three more girls. So I'm going to postpone this decision until the Shippuden timeline, as I want to give time for Naruto develop it's relationship with the three main girls.

 **Q:** About Naruto's use of fuinjutsu.

 **A:** I plan on making a fight scene in the Chunin Exams Arc when Naruto will fight against a strong opponent mainly relying at fuinjutsu, depending on the scene acceptance I might further dive into Naruto's fuinjutsu skillset.

 **Q:** Karin and Naruto are cousins, it's incest?

 **A:** I looked up into the canon material and there's no mention of Naruto and Karin being cousins. I think they might be fifth or sixth cousins but they aren't directly related. I think the idea of Karin's mother being Kushina's sister is totally incorrect as I doubt Kushina would leave her sister alone after the fall of Uzushiogakure. As for interclan marriages: it's somewhat common in Naruto, Senju, Uzumaki, Uchiha and Hyuga are distant blood relatives and there's cases of marriages between those clans in canon, like Hashirama and Mito, Naruto and Hinata and maybe in the future Bolt (because it's cooler than Boruto) and Sarada. Some clans, notably the Uchiha and principally Hyuga are notable for inbreeding. I mean, look at the Hyuga clan, everyone shares the same face, it's creepy.

 **Q:** Sakura and Sasuke will go as canon?

 **A:** No, Sakura will be in Naruto's harem. I'll focus on their relationship during the Chunin Exams Arc, but I assure that Sakura will be paired with Naruto. For Sasuke: he will also have a major role in the Chunin Exams Arc and in the subsequent arcs, but for now I have one or two ideas of who I'm pairing him, if I pair him, but none of those are definite.

 **Q:** About Naruto's first kill scene in Chapter 7.

 **A:** I tried to be realistic, Naruto is a 12 year old and I believe he would naturally be shaken if he had to kill somebody. I tried to keep him humane as possible as I don't want a Dark nor ROOTesque Naruto. I developed Naruto's mindset in this chapter and as you can see he's more matured now.

 **Q:** will Sakura and Ino face each other like they did in canon or will they have different opponents?

 **A:** They won't face each other at the third stage as canon as I need Sakura to advance to the next round to develop her character. I'm not sure about who's Ino opponent is going to be, for Sakura I plan on having her fight Kin Tsuchi of Oto, as she's probably the weakest opponent possible. Naruto will have and excellent fight scene too, and I guarantee you that his opponent isn't going to be Kiba.

 **Q:** Temari in the harem?

 **A:** Sorry but no, Temari will be paired with Shikamaru as canon. I pondered about chosing her but I believed that ShikaTema was a better idea. Also my man Shikamaru deserves a fine chick too.

 **Author's Note 2:** When I was fighting the writer's block I mentioned above I stumbled upon a idea for a new fic, it's called Maelstrom, Waves and Wind. It is a AU fic where the Sandaime took Minato's place and Naruto was able to grow up with his parents. It'll be a epic length fic, with some pairings I defined earlier on. I suggest you to give it a try, so far I only wrote the concept chapter and the prologue, as I'm focusing on this story, but I pan to update it monthly. So please check it, it's in my profile.

* * *

 **Glossary:** In this section I'll introduce my created jutsu and techniques. I tried to give them realistic Japanese names using the Google Translate and a Romanji conversor, but I'm almost sure I made errors, so I apologize in advance.

 _Suraiken_ (Slicing Fist): Naruto's original taijutsu style. Asuma noted that despite being a informal style, he held some resemblances with the _Hebi_ (snake), _Gōken_ (strong fist) and _Suiken_ (drunken fist) styles. It relies on evasion, speed and acrobatics, to throw the opponent off balance and strike him with counterattacks. Asuma helped the style by teaching Naruto some applicable fundamentals and drilling him on the use of chakra knives instead of simple punches. It's still a work in progress and will suffer some alterations.

 _Fūton: Kaiten Daitoppa_ (Wind Release: Rotating Great Breakthrough): C-rank original Wind Release ninjutsu. Naruto creates one or two shadow clones that propel the original in the air. Using the extra momentum, Naruto spins quickly and performs the _Fūton: Daitoppa_ (Wind Release: Great Breakthrough), the quick rotation combined to the jutsu creates a sort of wind sphere. Right now Naruto uses this technique as a defensive shield rather than an attacking jutsu.

That concludes the Glossary entries for today.

* * *

That's the end of Chapter 8 of Konoha's Underdog, I sincerely hope that you enjoyed reading it as much as I enjoyed writing it.

Please leave a review, I love reviews.

Next chapter will feature Naruto in his first S-Ranked mission.


	9. S-ranked in Suna

Disclaimer: I don't own Naruto

Check the end of the chapter for Author's notes and Q&A

* * *

The Hokage office was supposed to be an ample space. As the only furniture is a large table, a sofa in the corner and three chairs, including the Hokage's seat. Keywords "supposed to be" as the paperwork, the bane of every Kage's existence, is taking up absurd amounts of space. In the sofa, in the table, creating a pile of the size of Naruto, whether you looked you would see it. By seeing his aged grandpa figure struggling against this voracious and merciless enemy, Naruto formulated two theories: A) Konoha was having a prosperity boom, with high number of enrollments of shinobi, impressive mission completion rates and massive income of money that was going to be reinvested in the village. B) The Sandaime was a lazy ass son of a bitch that decided to read smut instead of working. Naruto would bet his ever-increasing money balance that the correct assumption was choice B.

The helpless Hokage then glanced at Team 10, and quickly shifting his focus back to the accumulated paperwork he said:

"I see you completed your mission, go to the mission reception desk to receive your payment."

Asuma nodded to Shino and Hinata, who took their leaves, and once again spoke to his father.

"Father, something important happened at the mission."

The Hokage knew that if his son would actually ask to talk to him about something, he should pay attention. He stopped working and glanced to his son and then Naruto, deducing that Naruto contributed to whenever happened at the mission. "You have my full attention."

"Naruto, do the honors."

Without saying a word, the blond jinchūriki took three scrolls from the pouch he had strapped on his right waist. The Hokage identified two of the scrolls as sealing scrolls and the third one as a regular one.

Naruto then too one of the sealing scrolls, opened it up on the ground and kneeled, pumping chakra on the scroll. A puff of smoke appeared signaling the activation of the scroll. The Hokage then glanced at the unsealed object: a severed head. Green, wavy hair, probably died by beheading as his mouth and eyes were still open. Green hair, purple eyes… Then it clicked.

"Is that?"

Naruto cut the Hokage. "Yes, Aoi Rokushō, missing nin from Konoha. He was leading a team from Ame, I clashed against him and managed to kill him. Asuma burnt the rest of the body as only his head was needed to claim the bounty." He explained with a clear tone, before opening a grin. "Now I believe that you owe me 500,000 ryō."

"And you will be paid." Signaling for a hidden ANBU to appear, he took the scroll, handled it to the operative. "Take this to the T&I department, see if Inoichi Yamanaka can check his brain for some info." The ANBU nodded, taking the scroll and vanishing.

"Naruto, if you defeated him perhaps…" he began, only to be cut again.

"I'd like to have full privacy for the next subject."

The Sandaime nodded before ordering all his hidden ANBU soldiers to leave the room.

The Uzumaki then took the second sealing scroll, this time opening it on the small available spot in the table. The unsealed scroll then revealed a aqua blue vajra hilt. Naruto took the hilt in his right hand before channeling chakra in it. The result was instantaneous, a saber of bright yellow electricity appeared from the hilt. Unlike when his previous owner wielded it, the saber was more physical, also emitting more energy.

"I was able to retrieve the Raijin no Ken…" Naruto began, ironically now being cut by the Hokage.

"And you want to keep it." The smut-loving Hokage concluded, causing Asuma, who quietly watched the conversation, to chuckle, and Naruto to face fault.

"Am I that easy to read?" Naruto asked embarrassedly.

"A little bit." The Sandaime replied with an amused smile.

"Now for your previous question… the Raijin no Ken is an heirloom of the Senju Clan, so I can't officially give it to you. However, the Senju Clan was reduced to just Tsunade Senju, who left Konoha a long time ago. Whilst she is still a kunoichi for this village I allowed her to take a sort of permanent vacation. The only way for you to get the sword officially is finding Tsunade and having her to relinquish the sword's possession to you. The issue is that her whereabouts are unknown." Hiruzen said, causing Naruto to sadden up a little. "But as the shinobi who recovered the sword and being the last Uzumaki, therefore a distant relative of both Tsunade and Tobirama, I'm giving it to you temporally under two conditions. First one is not to use it publicly unless it's extremely necessary and the second one is never take it away from the village until you're at least jonin. Do you agree?"

Naruto properly nodded, and the Hokage gave him back the sword.

"Now, what is the last scroll about?" the Hokage inquired

"It's a message that Idate Morino asked me to hand to you personally." The Uzumaki said, giving the last scroll to the Hokage.

"Alright, I'll read it and then I'll be back to the damned paperwork. Asuma, Naruto, good job and you're free to go."

"Hey, Hokage-sama…" Naruto asked, surprising Hiruzen with his formal tone.

"It may be dumb… but why don't you use the Shadow Clones for less important paperwork to limit your workload to only important paperwork." Naruto suggested.

After a few second, seeing that his father still didn't moved a single muscle, Asuma patted Naruto's back signaling him to move out of the room.

"I said something stupid?" Naruto asked embarrassedly, causing Asuma to chuckle.

"We will know soon enough."

As the duo left the Hokage tower, a loud scream made Konoha tremble.

"HOW I DIDN'T REALIZE THAT BEFORE? I THREW FORTHY YEARS OF MY LIFE AWAY. FORTHY FUCKING YEARS!"

* * *

Right now, Naruto is bored. Asuma received a special mission request from the Land of Fire daimyo, the kind of mission you can't refuse unless you wanted to create a diplomatic incident, and would be gone for at least two more weeks. The Hyūga and Aburame clans decided to take advantage of those two weeks to further train their respective heirs. Naruto was truly happy for his teammates, he knew that they would come out much better from training their skills with their clans.

However the blond genin couldn't help but feel like he was throwing his time away. His Fūton and Katon jutsu are at their prime. His taijutsu had improved a lot and he knew that he could give Asuma a run for his money. He wanted to train his newfound Raiton affinity but he had no clue of where he should begin, as Asuma didn't knew any Raiton ninjutsu. He also managed to create his first seals: storage seals and explosive tags. Basic stuff, but useful and he also managed to save some money creating his own stuff while he waited for this Jiraya guy to show up.

Naruto wanted a mission, so he decided to go to the Hokage office to see if there was any mission available. Hopefully he could get put alongside Team 8 with his friends Shikamaru and Choji and his new love interest: Ino. Heck, right now he could even accept a mission with Sasuke as team leader.

Despite being just a genin, Naruto had a sort of unofficial clearance to the Hokage office. It was no secret that the Sandaime loved Naruto as a grandson. So, with a simple nod to the secretary, Naruto was already into the office. Two months after Naruto's advice, there was still some paperwork, but not in the absurd amounts as before. The Hokage was reading his ever present porn book when he glanced to Naruto entering his office.

"Naruto, how may I help you?"

"Hey jiji, I was wondering if you had any mission for me."

"I'll see, but may I ask why you want a mission?"

"Get experience, also I don't like being idle for too long." Naruto explained. He didn't mention that, but he also felt somewhat lonely and felt like a mission maybe would help him with that.

"Okay, come back tomorrow, I may have something for you then." Hiruzen said, looking intently at one particular piece of paper

* * *

"Hokage-sama you wanted to see us?" Shikaku Nara asked with Inoichi Yamanaka and Chōza Akimichi to his sides.

Shikaku Nara has average height, black eyes and black hair tied in a ponytail similar to Shikamaru's and a black goatee. His most noticeable feature lies in his face: two large scars on his right side. He wears the Konoha jonin vest and a beige deer skin coat. Underneath his vest he wears a mesh shirt.

Chōza Akimichi has the typical Akimichi "big-boned" complexion. He wears a samurai like outfit which entails a black suit completed with armor that has the kanji for "food" on it. He has a mane like red hair and two purple markings on his cheek.

Finally, Inoichi Yamanaka has long blond hair, with an opaque tone, different than Ino's platinum one. He ties his hair in a complex ponytail, with two bangs framing his face. He has green eyes similar to Ino's. He wears the standard Konoha jonin outfit, the only noticeable change being a red sleeveless coat that he wears above his vest.

"Yes, I have a mission that especially requires your abilities. I also took the liberty of assigning a new team member for you."

"Who?" Inoichi asked curiously

"He is this year's best graduating genin, and despite his rank he already made quite an impression during his rookie year. I guarantee you that he will be no pushover." Hiruzen said proudly.

"Please don't tell me it's Sasuke Uchiha." Inoichi said with a bit of venom in his voice. He was what people called a overprotective father and he wasn't pleased when his daughter came home talking about how cool and handsome Sasuke is. When he learnt that the Uchiha openly ignored his daughter he was outraged.

"Sorry to disappoint you but I'm not the teme." Naruto said from a window in the office.

" _He called Sasuke a teme? I like this guy."_ Inoichi thought.

"Hokage-sama, Shikaku-san, Chōza-san" Naruto bowed to the men present in the room before turning to Inoichi "Yamanaka-san, I believe we weren't properly introduced before, it's a pleasure to meet you." Naruto bowed politely.

"Yes, we weren't introduced before, but I know you." Inoichi said in a stern tone, causing Naruto to flinch a little as he assumed that the Yamanaka clan head was amongst the shinobi that saw him as the Kyubi.

Seeing the boy's nervousness , Inoichi quickly spoke again.

"No need to be nervous Naruto-kun, I know you because I scanned Aoi Rokushō's brain and I must say, you're very strong." Inoichi said, causing Naruto to smile.

"Introductions aside, now let's pay attention to what Hokage-sama has to say to us."

"Thanks Shikaku. What I'm assigning you right now is a A-ranked mission, with high chances of turning a S-ranked under some conditions."

"For the last few years, Konoha has been receiving an increased number of missions from the Land of Wind daimyo. Our higher success rate made their leadership chose us instead of their shinobi village. Naturally the daimyo decided to cut the funding he gives to Suna in order to cover the most expensive fees from our own village. This of course didn't sit well with the Kazekage and their council. We from Konoha fear that Suna may be attempting to betray our alliance in order to regain their status and some money."

"An attack in Konoha would be disastrous as we have yet to recover from the losses on the Kyubi's attack and the loss of the Uchiha Clan."

"So, in order to better prepare for any possibility, I am sending this team, under the leadership of Shikaku Nara in order to investigate the truth behind those rumors. And if they're indeed true, you should do a sabotage and kidnaping mission in order to give us leverage against Suna."

"Due to the dangerous nature of this mission and your status as clan heads, you can choose to decline the mission without fearing a backlash of any type. Naruto, as a genin will also get the chance to back down before accepting the mission."

"I accept the mission." Naruto said surprising the Ino-Shika-Chō trio with his courage.

Sensing the questioning glances at him Naruto explained his decision: "I know that this is an extremely dangerous mission, but if I don't do it then there may be a war and my precious people may get caught in it. I'm willing to give my life in order to protect the village and most of all my precious people."

The clan heads and the Sandaime looked in awe at Naruto due to his maturity and willingness to sacrifice himself in order to protect what was important to him.

"I accept the mission." Inoichi said putting a hand in Naruto's shoulder

"I accept the mission." Chōza was the next.

Shikaku mumbled something about troublesome blondes before saying "I accept the mission."

* * *

The new formed team was at Konoha Western Gate. Inoichi, Naruto and Chōza were already ready. Shikaku came a few minutes later.

"I was with Hokage-sama revising our strategy. We are entering Suna as official envoys, under the guise of delivering a formal invitation for the upcoming Chunin Exams that are going to be held in Konoha. Naruto will not be joining us, his mission will be to infiltrate the village, and with help of his shadow clones and advanced _Henge no Jutsu_ (Transformation Technique), scout the village, focusing on military buildings and identifying important targets. He will later rendezvous with our remaining team, so we can properly formulate our next steps should we find out that Suna is indeed planning to betray us." Shikaku explained.

"We are taking the conventional route, through the Land of Rivers." He explained, before taking four beige cloaks from his backpack.

"Those are deer skin cloaks to use when we enter the Land of Wind desert, believe me you'll be thanking me soon enough." He said handling each team member a cloak.

* * *

"You can thank me now." Shikaku said smugly as his team making way through the desert.

The desert provided a harsh environment and whilst not a sandstorm by any means, the strong wind currents gave a rough time to the team and if not by the deer skin cloaks that Shikaku provided, the sand particles dragged by the wind could already have caused some cuts.

"Thanks, Shikaku." The rest of team said in unison with a less than excited tone.

"Naruto, I've meaning to as you something." Inoichi said, drawing Naruto's attention.

"Shoot it." Naruto said informally. Naruto's first impression of Inoichi was proven wrong as the Yamanaka Clan Head proved to be very nice to him. He even offered to teach Naruto some sensoring exercises when he learnt that he had a bit of sensor ability.

"You mentioned earlier that you already knew Shikaku and Chōza before, may I ask how?"

"I was in the same academy class as Shikamaru and Chōji, you know? I've been skipping class and sleeping during class with these guys for years." Naruto said chuckling. "Sometimes I would stop at the Nara compound to play Shogi with Shikamaru, so I was bound to meet with Shikaku-san sometime."

"The same applies to Chōza-san, I, every once in a while, would be invited to the Akimichi restaurants by Chōji. So I also got the chance to meet Chōza-san."

"I see, what about my Ino-hime? Are you her friend too?"

Naruto bowed his head a bit to hide the small blush on his cheek as he remembered his relationship with Ino. He saw Ino as a very pretty girl during the academy, but never really talked to her. Ino didn't openly despise him, what in his head was already a plus. But as Ino was so keen on chasing Sasuke around, she never had the time to talk with anybody else, she even ended her friendship with Sakura because both girls liked the Uchiha.

However everything changed before graduation, as Ino was put in a different team than Sasuke, it was expected her to get over him a bit. What Naruto didn't expect was for him to almost kiss Ino this night at the flower shop. Neither for him to share a somewhat romantic moment with the Yamanaka heiress before he left for his C-ranked mission three months ago.

"Not too much." Naruto said after quickly recomposing himself.

"It's a shame, if Ino-hime liked boys like you my life would much easier." Inoichi commented, causing Shikaku and Chōza to raise their eyebrows and Naruto's blush to return.

" _He said what I think he said?"_

The friendly banter was interrupted by various chakra spikes and a blast of killing intent.

* * *

"What the fuck?" Naruto muttered

"Inoichi, can you sense what happened?" Shikaku muttered

Inoichi stood quietly for a minute before turning to his teammates. "A battle, I feel two Kage level chakra reserves, one jonin level one, I also felt two other jonin chakra's disappearing, I'm assuming they were killed." He said worriedly.

"Shit, this makes our mission now virtually impossible, we will need to infiltrate a village in a heightened security process." Chōza said.

"Naruto, can you send a shadow clone to scout ahead? Preferably dispel the clone before they notice you, it would make things easier for us if we went unnoticed." Shikaku said.

"I'm on it. _Kage Bunshin no Jutsu_ (Shadow Clone Jutsu)." Turning to his clone, Naruto proceeded to talk. "There's a battle taking place about four kilometers northwest from here. Scout the site and dispel before being noticed, do not engage." The genin said sternly.

After three minutes, the memories of the clone came back to Naruto, who put an incredulous expression.

"Shikaku-san I'd hate to be in your shoes right now. Inoichi-san was correct, three persons. The man I assume to be the Kazekage judging by his green hat, if fighting two opponents. A white haired creepy guy that I'd say is a jonin and a kage level opponent. I never saw him personally, but due to the dark aura and the use of snakes, I'd say we're dealing with the infamous Orochimaru here."

* * *

Rasa was a famed shinobi in his own right. As the Sandaime Kazekage suddenly disappeared without leaving a trace, he was chosen as the Yondaime Kazekage due to his mastery in the _Sakin_ (Gold Dust). Despite siding up with their longtime allies in Konoha, Suna lost a lot of power. His desire for quality, made him go as far as sealing the Shukaku in his own newborn son, a decision that he still regretted, as it killed his wife in childbirth and destroyed his family. As Kazekage he saw Suna on the verge of disappearing as his own daimyo decided to assign missions to Konoha and reduced the village's funding greatly. He had nothing against Konoha, as contrary to popular belief, but his village came first. When a mysterious man offered a chance to attack Konoha he couldn't refuse. Not only he would destroy competition but also he would showcase the worth of his Suna shinobi.

He thought the meeting with this unidentified man would be a trivial affair. He was wrong, the man was no other than Orochimaru and, alongside his subordinate, he made short work of his bodyguards.

Orochimaru used the _Sen'ei Tajashu_ (Many Hidden Shadow Snake Hands) to restrain him and was going to kill him with the _Kusanagi no Tsurugi_ when the unexpected happened. A beige blur came out of above, targeting Orochimaru. The Sannin easily sidestepped the project, and rasa took the chance to free himself from the restraints.

Then four figures appeared in front of him, facing the enemy. Three of those figures Rasa knew well: Shikaku Nara, Inoichi Yamanaka and Chōza Akimichi, the Ino-Shika-Chō trio. Nearing the end of the Third Shinobi World War Rasa escorted the trio to a meeting with Iwa where they would deliver the peace treaty. Rasa's skills saved the Ino-Shika-Chō that day. The fourth figure was a boy, judging by his height, he was twelve, the same age as Gaara. The boy had blond hair and alongside the rest of his teammates wore a beige cloak.

"Guess we're even now Kazekage-dono." Shikaku said

"We will talk about debts later, now let's take care of Orochimaru." Rasa said

"Naruto, you and Inoichi should take Orochimaru's subordinate. We will take care of Orochimaru."

"No." Naruto said surprising Shikaku. "The Ino-Shika-Chō strength lies in teamwork, the main goal here is to defeat Orochimaru, so you guys need full power to do so. I'll take his subordinate alone."

"Naruto…" Inoichi tried to argument but was stopped by the genin.

"Don't worry Inoichi-san, I won't be taken down easily."

"Kukuku… it seems that the boy wants to fight with you, Kimimaro-kun." Orochimaru said with his naturally creepy voice.

"I'll show no mercy." Kimimaro said, before turning to Naruto. "My name is Kimimaro Kaguya, remember that, because it's the last thing you'll see alive."

Kimimaro had shoulder length pale white hair, green eyes, two scarlet dots on his forehead and shaved eyebrows. He wore a kimono that was left open, revealing a seal of sorts in the base of his neck.

* * *

" _Teshi Sendan_ (Ten-Finger Drilling Bullets)" Kimimaro said before propelling his finger bones towards Naruto in great speed.

Taken aback by the peculiarity of the technique Naruto had to think on his feet, and created a Shadow Clone to help him avoid the projectiles.

" _This guy uses bones as weapons. I'm assuming that those aren't just regular bones so I'm keeping things at mid-range."_

" _Katon: Karyū Endan_ (Fire Release: Fire Dragon Flame Bullet)"

The fire dragons were strengthened by the desert weather and charged at Kimimaro. The Otogakure shinobi had to jump midair to evade the jutsu, giving a opening for Naruto to launch another attack.

" _Fūton: Shinkūgyoku_ (Wind Release: Vacuum Sphere)" the second attack managed to hit Kimimaro. Naruto smirked as he knew that being hit by a technique of this level would weaken the opponent greatly, to his surprise, when the dust cleared, Kimimaro, despite some cuts in his forearms, looked completely fine.

" _Looks like I'm in for a long fight."_ Naruto thought before preparing his next jutsu.

During the next twenty minutes, the fight maintained the same pattern, Naruto would use a combination of ninjutsu to land a hit on Kimimaro, but the hit would always be almost totally absorbed by Kimimaro's manipulation of his bones.

Naruto noticed two things about his opponent: his bones were definitively ticker or denser than the normal ones, so engaging in taijutsu was highly dangerous. However despite being sure that his hits didn't caused any sort of serious damage, Naruto saw that his opponent was acting like he was tired and had something restraining his movements. It could have been the previous fight or a counter effect of relying on bone manipulation. Naruto was sure that he only lasted that long in this fight as the opponent was dodging his strikes instead of properly engaging him.

Kimimaro also had his own thoughts. The last Kaguya lived to serve Orochimaru, and he knew that Orochimaru deserved nothing short of perfection. Two months ago, he started to feel ill, but he brushed it off as a regular illness, right now as he fought the Konoha genin, he was sure that this was no normal illness. If he kept on the defensive Orochimaru would see his faults and would render him as useless. Steeling himself from the pain that he felt in his body, he started to grow bones at his knees, elbows, back and palm of his hand.

"It's over for you. _Yanagi no Mai_ (Dance of the Willow)."

Kimimaro then took the offensive and attacked Naruto with palm thrusts. The genin from Konoha, who specialized himself in evasion was able to dodge the first set of strikes easily, only to be surprised by knee strike, that would certainly pierce him if he didn't managed to parry it using his chakra knife.

The onslaught continued, with Naruto barely avoiding life threatening hits. Kimimaro was slowly cornering him, and when Naruto had to do a evasive backflip he finally got the opening he wanted, he directed a right hand palm thrust and expanded the length of his bones. As Naruto just landed on his feet, he saw the ever growing word in Kimimaro's palm to reach closer to his hearth. The worse thing is that he was helpless, and for the first time on his life he could do nothing but watch as the sword would pierce his hearth. Naruto Uzumaki wouldn't die as a coward, so he kept his eyes open, glaring at Kimimaro's green eyes. As the sword grew closer to his hearth, he started to remember his life.

" _Hokage-jiji…Ayame-chan…Old man Teuchi…Konohamaru-kun…Ebisu-hentai…Iruka-sensei…Asuma-sensei…Hinata-chan…Shino…Kiba…Ch_ _ō_ _ji…Shikamaru…Shikaku-san…Ch_ _ō_ _za-san… Inoichi-san… Ino-chan…, my precious people, I'm sorry, I failed you all."_ were his last thoughts.

To Naruto's surprise the bone sword stopped short two centimeters of his hearth, as Kimimaro kneeled in pain and coughed some blood as the bones he extended went back into his body. Naruto saw the scene for a few seconds without knowing how to act, he was sure he would die, but now it seems like life gave him a second chance. And he wasn't going to throw this chance away. He charged at the still struggling Kimimaro, targeting his neck with his chakra knives, as he readied a 'X' strike at Kimimaro's neck he failed to notice the seal in the base of his throat activating. The seal black color changed into orange, before spreading parallel lines alongside Kimimaro's body. The shinobi's eyes opened as he grew bones into his shoulders, blocking Naruto's would be fatal strike.

He created space before glaring at Naruto.

"You will die now. " He said before literally removing his Humerus (upper body bone that runs between the shoulder and the elbow) and wielding it like a sword.

" _Tsubaki no Mai_ (Dance of the Camellia)."

He then quickly closed distance with the genin and started to attack him with stabbing motions using his bone sword. The speed was unbelievable, and Naruto wasn't able to dodge, parry or create distance as he was assaulted. The attack pattern created several afterimages that also confused Naruto. The genin knew that he was being severely outclassed and could only do his best to avoid being pieced in a vital spot.

" _Please guys, finish the Snake bastard quickly, it looks like I'll need major help here."_ Naruto thought before being stabbed by Kimimaro's sword.

* * *

Meanwhile, Shikaku Nara was justifying why he was the most intelligent man in Konoha. He developed a flawless strategy that would focus on stalling for reinforcements and the use of Ch _ō_ za's _Baika no Jutsu_ (Multi-Size Technique) and Rasa's _Sakin_ to create shadows and trap Orochimaru with the _Kagemane no Jutsu_ (Shadow Imitation Technique) so Inoichi could finish him with _Shinranshin no Jutsu_ (Mind Body Disturbance Technique). However neither he nor Inoichi had the reserves to hold Orochimaru for too long, so this maneuvers only served to stall and to slowly mine Orochimaru. Shikaku then developed a new strategy, deciding to use the desert environment to increase Rasa's abilities. He thought the battle was won when Rasa trapped Orochimaru with the _Jiton: Sakin Taisō_ (Magnet Release: Gold Dust Imperial Funeral).

However the Snake had other plans and used the _Kuchiyose no Jutsu_ (Summoning Technique) to summon the famed Manda, freeing himself from the gold dust prison in the process. He glanced sideward to see Naruto being defeated by Kimimaro. The blond genin had several holes through his body and was only alive due to the Kyubi's enhanced healing factor. Kimimaro landed besides Orochimaru, on top of Manda's head.

"Took you long enough, Kimimaro-kun."

"Sorry for my failure, Orochimaru-sama."

"Well it doesn't matters, we need to leave our fight has drawn enough attention." Orochimaru said before looking back at Rasa and Shikaku. "This is far from over, mark my words." "Manda reverse summon us to Ryūchi Cave." He said before disappearing in a reverse summon.

" _Troublesome…"_

* * *

Naruto woke up and looked around, he was at a hospital. The walls were green and the furniture was different from Konoha, so he assumed he was carried to Suna. He remembered having his ass handed to him by Kimimaro painfully clearly. He tried to get up, he was feeling sore but not totally crushed.

"Naruto-kun good to see you recovered." Was the voice of Inoichi, who stood at the entrance of the room accompanied by Shikaku and Chōza.

"Thanks Inoichi-san, how long I've been out?"

"Three days." Chōza said

"What about the mission?"

"Completed. We saved the Kazekage and showed that Konoha has no ill intentions towards Suna." Shikaku explained

Naruto stood quietly with his head down for some moments.

"I messed it up, I'm sorry." He muttered

"Yes you did." Shikaku said sternly

"But nobody died, so be thankful for it. Naruto, you're an amazing shinobi and I'd dare say you are the best prospect we had since Itachi Uchiha. But you were so overconfident in your own abilities that you decided to take a stronger opponent that clearly outclassed you." Inoichi completed.

Naruto was now even more ashamed, his first big mission and messed things up greatly. Suddenly he felt a hand on his shoulder it was Chōza's.

"But nobody died, so use this as an experience of what you shouldn't do." Chōza said.

"Next time remember your fails and be sure to not repeat them. Like Inoichi said you're a great shinobi, don't change your view of yourself just because of a failed assignment." Shikaku continued.

"Naruto, we all have made mistakes when we were young. Thankfully this error didn't kill anyone. I'd look at the bright side, we completed a S-rank, saved the Kazekage, helping the relations between the village and preventing a war and survived an encounter with Konoha's most famed traitor and S-Rank missing nin Orochimaru and a survivor from the feared Kaguya clan from Kirigakure, so I think I speak for us all when I say that was a productive trip." Inoichi said comfortingly.

"Thanks, guys."

"I see the kid is finally wake. Good timing too, the Kazekage requests your presence in his office." Said an elderly woman, who appeared to be about seventy years old.

"Yes, thanks Chiyo-san, we will go right away." Inoichi said.

* * *

The Kazekage office was a bit different from the Hokage's office. The windows were round, and it was slightly smaller. However, a thing was similar to it counterpart in Konoha, the accumulated paperwork. The Kazekage was a man in his late thirties or early forties, with a stern and slight threatening appearance. He had auburn hair and black eyes.

"Welcome to my office. I'm the Yondaime Kazekage and I called you here to show my appreciation of your team help during Orochimaru's attack. I wanted to bestow gifts for you to show Suna's appreciation."

"Well Kazekage-dono there's no need to that, fifteen years ago you saved us for the sake of alliance between our villages, three days ago we saved you for the sake of the same alliance." Shikaku explained

"A favor for a favor it is then." He said before glancing at Naruto "Step forward, young one." As the boy did what was requested, Rasa inquired him again. "What's your name?"

"Naruto Uzumaki, Kazekage-dono."

"A Uzumaki? I thought your clan was exterminated."

"I'm the only survivor." Naruto explained

"You, despite being only a genin, have shown extreme bravery facing the likes of Orochimaru, so I believe a reward is in order."

"Kazekage-dono, it's not necessary."

"I insist" he said sternly.

"Well, if I really have to ask for something… perhaps some non-secret Fūton ninjutsu scrolls?"

"Well consider it done." He said before snapping his fingers, summoning a ANBU. "Get some good Fūton scrolls for the kid."

As the ANBU disappeared, he glanced towards Naruto.

"Naruto-kun, you remember me a lot of another Konoha shinobi I've run into several times ago. He was Minato Namikaze, who became the Yondaime later. I'm eager to see if you will be anywhere near his level in the Chunin Exams." He said, surprising the group of Konoha shinobi. Shikaku, Inoichi and Chōza indeed saw several of Minato's features in Naruto. Shikaku made some math in his head and paled at his conclusion. Inoichi and Chōza looked at Shikaku's shocked expression and mirrored his own reactions. Naruto however chuckled drily, he knew the Yondaime was a hero to Konoha, but he pretty much fucked his life when he sealed a ancient and powerful demoniac fox into him.

"Well, I'm no Minato, I'm just Naruto." He said dismissing Rasa's compliment.

"Well, only the time will say." He said as the ANBU reappeared with four scrolls.

Rasa took the scrolls and gave to Naruto, whose eyes widened.

"Kazekage-dono, those are A and B ranked jutsus."

"Yes, I believe you'll be able to make good use of them. I look forward meeting you again, Naruto Uzumaki of Konoha."

* * *

As the Leaf team left his office, Rasa turned to Chiyo and Ebizō the honored siblings of Suna.

"Rasa-kun, what was that about?" Ebizō asked

"Well, I have a hunch that this Uzumaki boy will be great. It makes sense to be on good terms with him. Maybe we could even convince him to join Suna."

"That's impossible." Ebizō retorted

"Well, this kid is clearly Minato's child and by Chiyo's reports a jinchūriki as well. If their treatment of jinchūrikis is the same as in Suna he should have a hate for his village, if he discovers that Konoha has been keeping his parentage as a secret we could convince him to join our village, creating an era of greatness."

"You really think so?"

"Yes, but for now let's focus on definite things, I'll personally train Gaara for the exams. This year's exams are going to be the most disputed in years. If we defeat the likes of Uchiha and the Uzumaki we could certainly regain some prestige."

Rasa then sighed

 _"Now, back to the damned paperwork."_

* * *

At a underground base an aged man watched his shinobi. He handpicked the three most promising ones.

"I'm entering you into the chunin exams, your mission is to hinder Naruto Uzumaki's progress by any possible means. You will also need to keep a eye into Sasuke Uchiha and provide me accurate reports of those two. I'll be in touch with further details." He said before disappearing in a Shunshin.

* * *

 **Author's Notes : **A surprisingly quick update as I had free time to do so. I tried to keep things realistic here, Naruto is strong, but still isn't unable to beat Kimimaro despite his illness. Also I felt like he needed a failure to grow up as a shinobi. As you can see: after this point, the fic will begin to branch from the original Naruto, so expect the unexpected.

Rasa (Gaara's father) will be a bit OOC, but I decided to write about him as I never saw anyone trying to do it.

 **Questions and Answers:**

 **Q:** Will Naruto become an idealist or a pacifist?

 **A:** No, Naruto's reluctance to kill is a gradual matter, as I figured out it would be realistic that Naruto slowly matured instead of abruptly changing.

 **Q:** Does Naruto feel sorry about what happen to Idate?

 **A:** In a degree yes. In this fanfiction Naruto wasn't exactly tricked by Mizuki like he was in the original series, so he doesn't feels like Mizuki betrayed him more than the rest of the village. I'd say that Naruto felt like the entire village, with few exceptions, betrayed him, some people in higher degrees than others. So he feels sympathetic about Idate history, but he doesn't relate to that history like the Naruto from canon.

 **Q:** Is Naruto going to help reunite the brothers?

 **A:** He will, in an indirect way, but he will. Also Ibiki knows that Idate is alive, I don't watch the anime often but, if I'm not mistaken, Ibiki came to Idate's rescue when he was tricked by Aoi. If I remember correctly Ibiki got some of his scars being tortured by Aoi.

 **Q:** Will Naruto learn Suiton?

 **A:** He will learn Suiton, and I believe the assumption of Uzumaki Clan having natural affinity to Suiton is a true one. I think of it being similar to the Uchiha's affinity with Katon. But Naruto is not a "pure blooded" Uzumaki, so I believe his Suiton will be his weakest nature transformation. Wind is his original affinity in the series, and I kept that in this fanfiction. Besides the Fūton I added Katon, as the Kyubi was shown to have this particular affinity. I decided to add Raiton to Naruto because I thought it would be extremely fun to write about it and using a genetics argument, as Minato used Fūton, Katon and Raiton I thought it would be nice if Naruto had the same skills as his father. I plan on writing about Suiton after the Chunin Exams preliminaries. If anyone is curious I don't plan on having Naruto using Doton, but this may change in the future.

 **Q:** How Karin will join Konoha?

 **A:** Sorry, I can't answer that one without spoiling, I guess you will have to wait and see.

 **Q:** Will Kin and Tayuya be in the harem?

 **A:** Highly unlikely, unless there's a lot of demand for those two I don't plan on adding them. However that doesn't mean that they will have the same fates as in the original Naruto.

 **Q:** Will there be any lemons in this story during the Shippuden timeline?

 **A:** In my opinion it would add to the story greatly, but I honestly don't know if I will be able to write this kind of scene properly. In other words: I want to, but I'm not sure about how the result will turn out like and I think that I badly written scene would "stain" the story.

 **Q:** How close are we to the start of the Chunin Exams?

 **A:** Unless I have to split any chapters it begins at Chapter 11, so just one or two weeks away.

 **Q:** How hard will it be for Sakura to prove her worth to Naruto?

 **A:** I wrote a little about Naruto and Sakura's relationship on Chapter 3 I think. The thing is that despite being a fangirl for Sasuke during the academy, Sakura in her own way proved her worth to Naruto. As I'd rather show instead of explaining, here is the passage I mentioned above:

" _Sakura Haruno was Naruto's first crush, actually Naruto's first love. Unfortunately it was totally one-sided, and Naruto never felt the right moment to make a move on her. After undergoing a change of personality four years ago, Naruto hoped that his crush on Sakura would end. Boy, he was wrong, before seeing the world with his newfound wisdom, Naruto liked Sakura because she was pretty, she had a lovely pink hair and a cute forehead. The new Naruto saw a girl that was extremely talented, with a masterful chakra control and that managed to be the top kunoichi in class, in front of two clan heiress despite her civilian handicap. Now Naruto was truly in love. But he knew better, she liked Sasuke, her crush on the emo being even bigger than Ino's. She was a civilian, her parents probably hating him. So Naruto decided to do what he did best, mask his feelings. During four years, Naruto never spoke a single word to Sakura, hoping to someday finally stopping loving her. He felt that his love turned back into attraction, but deep inside it was still there."_

Naruto is probably the person who believes in Sakura the most, despite barely exchanging a few words with her. In a point of this story he will take pity on Sakura throwing away her potential and will help her, the real NaruSaku starts here. Also keep in mind that in this story Naruto was acting as an adult since he was eight, so he never declared his love for Sakura nor pestered her for dates. Since Naruto wasn't acting "annoying" towards her Sakura had no real reason to constantly beat Naruto up or criticize him during academy. Being from a civilian background, despite her father being shinobi, Sakura was told to keep away from Naruto, so their relationship in the academy was inexistent. So Naruto will not have to forgive Sakura because she never did anything wrong to him, this being combined to Naruto's admiration of her strong-willed personality and skills will make Naruto take interest in her as a kunoichi and later on as a potential lover.

 **Q:** About Sasuke's personality in this story and some bashing.

 **A:** I never planned to bash Sasuke. I've read some bashing stories and whilst I think some slight bashing sometimes makes the history interesting my opinion is that people tend to overdo it. That being said I must tell: I still haven't written anything about Sasuke and I think that his part will be very hard to write. Psychologically you can understand Sasuke's inner conflict. A thing that I think Kishimoto could have explored more in the anime is Sasuke's fear of making connections with other people. He only came to know the truth behind the Uchiha Massacre at age sixteen, where he was already influenced by the actions of Orochimaru and Tobi. So when I see the pre curse mark stoic and reserved Sasuke attitude I see this as a shield of sorts. Itachi took everyone who was precious to him. By not having anyone else, Sasuke was shielding himself from the pain of loss and also shielding other people from Itachi as he might have feared that Itachi would try to harm people close to him if he was left unchecked.

Talking about this story, I will once again quote the chapter three, but before I must further develop on Naruto's relationship with Sasuke. Despite acting mature, Naruto is still a twelve years old. He also shares some of the traits of the original Naruto, when I'm talking about his relationship with Sasuke I must stress that deep inside his mind, Naruto still craves for acknowledgement. Not from everyone, but from worthy people, and despite disliking Sasuke's overly closed personality he sees Sasuke as someone he wants to acknowledge him.

" _Finally, Sasuke Uchiha, aka duck butt hair, aka the emo avenger, aka Sasgay. The Last Uchiha. If all the Uchihas acted like Sasuke, Naruto would pat Itachi on the back for getting rid of them. Sasuke had a superiority and a inferiority complex at the same time. He looked down at all of those who he deemed as weaker than him, but at the same time he refused to acknowledge anyone who was stronger than him as a equal. Naruto could never imagine what would be like having his entire clan wiped out by his brother, being the lone survivor. Naruto could understand the pain and the suffering from losing those close to him. What Naruto couldn't understand and would never accept that beside always being praised, noticed and sometimes even favored, the guy would continue living on his own world. Sasuke never knew what was like being forcibly alone, having no one to acknowledge you and thus decided to just act high and might and ignore people who genuinely cared about him, like Ino and Sakura. That being set aside, Naruto respected the shinobi Sasuke, who could probably give chunins a run for their money."_

About the nicknames: earlier in the chapter Naruto was reflecting on his friendship with Shikamaru, Choji and Kiba, and stated that Kiba liked to refer to Sasuke using some, ummm… non polite names. The quote about the Uchiha massacre was also a joke and comedic relief of sorts, Naruto would never be happy with a massacre. The point I'm trying to make about Naruto and Sasuke is explained by the superiority and inferiority complex part. Naruto, as mentioned several times in this story was holding back at the academy, trying his best to not draw attention, so what pissed him was being regarded as an inferior by Sasuke when, in truth, he, more than anyone else was supposed to be acknowledged. The way Naruto jokes about Sasuke is a way to try to ease the ambient and to see if he gets the Uchiha to show some emotions.

I think that the original Sasuke threw away all his good image during the Kage Summit Arc, when he pierced Karin with a Chidori. After that he was an asshole until the final battle against Naruto at the Valley of the End. But I liked his redemption during the blank period and in the Boruto series.

So I won't bash Sasuke here. He will be put in his place about some of his actions post the curse seal. Overall, I think that writing about him and his relationship with Naruto will be an extremely hard task, but I'm willing to try and do my best.

 **Now, this isn't actually a Q &A but I think I this is the best section to write about it. This story had a higher success than I ever imagined. When I first started writing, only for the fun of it, I never imagined that by the end of Chapter 8 the story would have plus 40K words, more than 18,000 views, over 70 reviews, 200 favorites and 300 followers. I want to thank you all for reading this story and giving me motivation to continue it. That being said I want to cover some technicalities, as I mentioned in my first chapter, I'm not a native English speaker so I knew that writing in a different language would be a hard task. **

**Right now I think my writing is below average to say the best. And I wanted to apologize for that. When I started writing here, I decided that I would do my best to provide quality content for people who wanted to casually read a different version of one of my favorite series. When I read my own work I can understand it perfectly, but only because I was the one writing it. So, to the people that came to this story and felt that this work wasn't of properly quality: I deeply apologize for letting you down and I can only promise to keep working on my skills as a writer to entertain you in the future.**

* * *

Don't forget to leave a review and check my other fic: Maelstrom, Waves and Wind.

* * *

Next chapter will reveal Rasa scrolls, and feature a romantic NaruIno scenes with some Asuma x Kurenai.


	10. The Prophet's Saga

Disclaimer I wish I owned Naruto and earned money for writing this, but I don't.

Check the end of chapter for Author's Notes, a quick Q&A and some power stats.

* * *

"So what you are telling me is that you have run into Orochimaru, saved the Kazekage and possibly prevented the start of a war?" Hiruzen asked incredulously as Shikaku reported his mission.

"Yes, I believe that Suna was indeed considering attacking us but it seems like they changed their minds as they lost the surprise effect." Shikaku further developed.

"Well, obviously this was an S-ranked mission, so you will be rewarded accordingly. The usual price for these kinds of missions is 1,000,000 ryō." Hiruzen said, causing Naruto's eyes to jump out of his sockets. "Is that okay with you?"

"YES." Naruto said almost yelling as he feared that Hiruzen would change his mind.

"Well, if that's all you're free to go. Stop by the mission desk to receive your money."

"Hokage-sama" was the voice of Inoichi "there's another matter I wanted to address."

"Well, Inoichi, you have my attention." Hiruzen said

"I, as a jonin of Konohagakure no Sato and head of the Yamanaka Clan, would like to recommend the immediate promotion of genin Naruto Uzumaki to chunin, under the pretext of his astounding track record and impressive mission completion rates." Inoichi said, surprising Naruto and getting approving nods from Shikaku and Chōza.

"Well, right now Naruto has completed 30 D-Ranks, 7 C-Ranks, 1 B-Rank, 1 A-Rank and 1 S-Rank, it is indeed a impressive record and I believe that if I put this subject for voting into the Shinobi Council, Naruto would indeed be promoted. Is that something you want, Naruto-kun?"

"I thank for the opportunity but no." Naruto said surprising Inoichi and the Sandaime.

"Last mission served as an eye opener for me. I may be the best genin from this year's class but I feel like my leadership skills aren't yet chunin level. I fear that if I'm given the command of a team my lack of experience and leadership could put the entire team in danger, so I'd like to have another month or two to address these issues. Also, if I'm promoted now, Team 10 would lose a member and wouldn't be able to take part in the chunin exams, I can't abandon my friends like that." Naruto once again surprised the Ino-Shika-Chō and the Hokage with his mindset.

"Well Naruto-kun, you've spoken like a chunin right now. I understand your reasoning and I'm sure you'll show your worth during the exams." Hiruzen said, proud of the genin.

Hiruzen was about to send the team away when he got a telepathic message from Inoichi saying that the trio wanted to talk with him in private.

"Naruto-kun, you're free to go. I still have some issues dealing the council that I have to discuss with Inoichi, Chōza and Shikaku here."

Naruto just shrugged and left the room, leaving the clan heads and the Hokage alone.

* * *

Hiruzen activated the privacy seals before turning to the clan heads "What you wanted to discuss?"

"Naruto… he's the son of the Yondaime right?" Inoichi asked

The Hokage paled, before narrowing his eyes

"How do you know that?"

"We didn't notice at the beginning, but the Kazekage noticed and made a comment about his resemblance." Shikaku explained

"Naruto suspects anything?"

"Who else knows?" Inoichi replied with a question

"Me, the elders, the three Sannin, Asuma and Kakashi. But you didn't answered my question. Naruto suspects anything?"

"Not yet." Inoichi said emphasizing the last word.

The Hokage once again narrowed his eyes, Naruto was always a touchy subject to him.

"Are you planning on telling him? This is a S-ranked secret, may I remind you the punishment for those who spill out S-ranked secrets?"

"I'm not planning anything, Hokage-sama." Inoichi said once again emphasizing the sama part, as a way to tell that he only agreed with Hiruzen's actions because of his rank. "But Naruto isn't stupid, he will figure out soon or later. And I guarantee you that he won't be pleased knowing that you lied to him."

"Don't you think that I wanted to tell him?" Hiruzen said yelling "It would make his life so much easier here, but if I did tell him his life would get much more complicated."

"Iwa would probably send countless assassins to avenge the Third Shinobi World War and Kumo would probably plot to kidnap him. Besides that the civilian council would force him in several loveless marriages under the CRA.(Clan Restoration Act)"

"But Naruto is mature enough to keep this kind of information to himself." Inoichi tried to argument

"He is, but what if somebody overhears something? What if Naruto is fooled by someone? This may be wrong but I only think of his safety."

"For how long? This is ticking bomb, if you tell him now we could control the effects."

"His godfather will tell him soon enough."

"And what kind of godfather leaves his godchild alone for twelve years?" Inoichi almost yelled

"A busy one, now if you have nothing else to talk about, leave. Or should my ANBU escort you?"

Inoichi just glared at the Hokage before being convinced to leave by his teammates.

* * *

"This is bullshit." He said after he left the office

"Inoichi, there's nothing we can do about that now." Shikaku said

"But it's unfair…" Inoichi said as he remembered Naruto's sad life history. He spent two weeks with the jinchūriki but those two weeks were enough for the Yamanaka clan head to take a liking for the boy. He considered him the son he never had. He loved Ino but deep down inside he always wished to have a son too. Naruto suddenly appeared and fitted right in this role

"It's unfair, but we can't do anything about it." Chōza said sympathetically

"Still…" Inoichi began only to be cut off by Shikaku.

"We can't do anything now, but when he finds out the truth we will be there for him."

"Okay."

" _Naruto-kun, we won't fail you like the rest of the village."_

* * *

"Okay Naruto, show us what you got." Asuma said before throwing several smoke bombs at the floor, next to the genin, creating a dense curtain of smoke. The rest of team 10 was sitting under a tree, paying attention to the jinchūriki's moves.

Naruto flashed through the handsigns before calling his jutsu.

" _Fūton: Taifūikka_ (Wind Release: Passing Typhoon)" the genin then expelled a gust of wind that dissipated the smoke curtain.

"Very good, the _Fūton: Taifūikka_ is a support jutsu that can dissipate adverse weather conditions that could obstruct your field of view."

"Now, let's see the second one." Asuma said before activating a trap that sent a huge number of Kunai and shuriken towards his student.

" _Fūton: Yae Hayate_ (Wind Release: Multi-Layered Gale)." Naruto said, creating a two layers vacuum wall that dutifully repelled the projectiles. The _Fūton: Yae Hayate_ was Naruto's favorite jutsu amongst the scrolls that the Kazekage gave him. It gave him his much needed defense as his ninjutsu were focused on attack. The fight with Kimimaro showed how much a reliable defense was needed. Naruto got his reliable defense in this jutsu.

"Very good, Naruto. What about the offensive ones?"

Naruto once again flashed through handsigns.

" _Fūton: Renkūdan_ (Wind Release: Drilling Air Bullet)" the genin said before expelling a concentrated wind ball, that collided with a tree, exploding it. The _Fūton: Renkūdan_ gave another possibility for Naruto to launch a powerful attack other than the _Fūton: Shinkūgyoku_ (Wind Release: Vacuum Sphere). Naruto knew a weaker Katon variant of this jutsu also, the _Katon: Endan_ (Fire Release: Flame Bullet), so getting the hang of it, despite the increased power wasn't that hard for Naruto.

"Great. You managed to get the hang of the last one."

"Kind of." the jinchūriki replied rubbing the back of his head embarrassedly.

"Show us."

Naruto then held his index and middle fingers together, channeling chakra into them before dashing towards a tree and making a slicing motion. The result was a small cut in area but with some profundity.

"Even if it has been two months since the Kazekage gave me the scroll I still can't do the _Kaze no Yaiba_ (Blade of Wind) properly. Right now I can only manifest it as a dagger of sorts."

"Take your time, Naruto, just don't use it in combat yet. Your jutsu repertoire is already at least chunin level, so don't worry about a single jutsu."

The team them engaged Asuma in both separate, and joint matches, and the jonin was pleased with the results. He already told his team that he planned on indicating them for the chunin exams and now, being just two weeks away from the start, he was confident that his team could do well in the exams.

* * *

Team practice was over and Naruto was making his way out of the training ground alongside Shino and Hinata, when he heard Asuma's voice saying for him to wait. He parted from his teammates, before rejoining Asuma.

"Naruto, I'd like to show you a jutsu." He said.

Naruto raised an eyebrow, but was definitively curious.

"This is a B-rank ninjutsu and one of my signature techniques." Asuma explained before making a few handseals.

" _Katon: Haisekishō_ (Fire Release: Ash Pile Burning)"

The son of the Sandaime then expelled a gust of smoke with his mouth, before making the tiger handseal, causing the smoke to explode.

" _Holy shit!"_ Naruto thought

"Nice, huh?" Asuma asked to the starry eyed genin.

"Hell yeah, that was fucking awesome."

Asuma then grinned "Well I could teach you as a payment for a mission."

"Mission?"

"What I need to know is if you're going to take the mission, because I can't disclose the details without knowing that you're in."

"I'm in."

"Good" Asuma grinned, before closing his expression "this is a S-ranked mission, no, scratch that, this is a SSS-rank mission, failure won't be allowed as it puts the future of Konoha's most important ninja on the line."

Naruto's eyes widened, this was like a dream coming true. He would be guarding the Hokage from dangerous enemies. In his S-ranked mission two months ago he screwed things up, now he was ready.

"Your mission is to…" Asuma said pausing dramatically "… buy flowers at the Yamanaka Flower Shop."

Words can't really describe Naruto's expression.

"WHAT KIND OF SSS-RANKED MISSION IS THAT?" he yelled "HOW THE FUCK HOKAGE-SAMA LIFE IS GOING TO BE IN DANGER IF I CAN'T BUY SOME STUPID FLOWERS?"

"Naruto, who said anything about the Hokage?"

"I assumed that when you said Konoha's most important ninja you were referring to the Hokage."

"My old man? Nah… he's a good shinobi and a great leader, but isn't the most important ninja in Konoha is…" he said pausing dramatically, before pointing at himself with his thumb "…me."

Naruto just starred at the jonin incredulously.

"WHAT THE FUCK?"

Asuma then adopted a more serious expression.

"Naruto what I'm telling you right now is a secret of sorts, so please don't tell anyone. It's about me and Kurenai."

Asuma then spent the next thirty minutes explaining his story with Kurenai. Making things shorter:

Asuma and Kurenai enrolled at the academy together and also became teammates. They were best friends and soon the friendship developed into something romantic. Seven years ago, Kurenai became pregnant and Asuma thought he was the luckiest man alive. Unfortunately, Kurenai had a miscarriage. The miscarriage affected the genjutsu mistress badly and she started to, in Asuma's own words, "act like a bitch.". Asuma became disillusioned with Kurenai slumping into depression and left Konoha to join the Twelve Guardian Ninja.

"Asuma, sorry to say that, but you fucked things up, badly." Naruto said after learning the story

"I know. For the last I've been living regretfully, thinking of how things would be different if I was there for Kurenai…"

"I can't live with that anymore, I need to do something to change that, better late than never they say right?"

"Well, at least you're determined to change things." The jinchūriki noted. "I'm honored to be part of this, but why can't you go alone and buy the flowers."

"First, I'll be busy planning something else. Second, Kurenai is Ino Yamanaka's sensei, and according to what you tell about her, she's the gossip queen of Konoha." Asuma said, causing Naruto to chuckle.

"So, you want me to dive head into the enemy territory alone?" Naruto said adopting the military terminology Asuma used earlier.

"Yes."

Naruto sighed. "I accept the mission. But I remember you saying this is a SSS-ranked mission, I don't think a B-rank jutsu is enough payment for a mission of this kind…"

"Fine, two B-ranked jutsus." Asuma said

"Not enough, sorry."

Asuma narrowed his eyes "What do you want?"

"This is my final offer, take it or leave it. Three B-ranked ninjutsu, the _Shunshin no Jutsu_ (Body Flicker Technique) and you'll find someone to teach me Raiton. A good teacher, or Kurenai will find a copy of Icha-Icha in your home."

"You wouldn't."

"Try me." Naruto said smugly

"Naruto-kun, if you ever give up in the ninja career I think you should try to work with finances."

"I know, sorry for taking advantage of the situation. But it was a too good to pass it."

"As long as I get my date with Kurenai it'll be worth it."

"Now if you excuse me, I have a mission to complete.

* * *

Ino Yamanaka sighed as she rested at the Yamanaka Flowers herbarium. She could hear her father attending the clients at the balcony, but she paid little mind to it because her thoughts were somewhere else. She once again found herself thinking about the blond enigma that was Naruto Uzumaki. She was so keen on following Sasuke at the academy that she didn't notice Naruto changing from a cute lone boy, as she thought at first, to a handsome man, who really caught her hearth. Ino last saw Naruto three months ago. After that she tried to find him countless times, but without success. Every time she had free time Naruto would either be outside of the village or training. She had run into Naruto's Team 10 teammates sometimes but even they didn't know what Naruto did in his free time. She thought about asking Chōji and Shikamaru, but changed her mind because she feared that they might tell Naruto about something.

She was hoping to see him in the Chunin Exams, but she doubted she would even have time to talk to him. Kurenai gave her a advice to not let her crush control her life, and she was inclined to adopt that mentality if nothing changed during the exams. It wasn't like Naruto would suddenly appear and confess his feelings for her.

Ino heard the bell ringing signaling another customer. And her father automatically answering.

"Welcome to Yamanaka Flower's… Naruto-kun? What you are doing here?

" _Wait. Naruto? As in Naruto Uzumaki?"_

Ino's mind went numb. So many questions were formed in her mind. _Where he was? Did he come here to see her? How her father knew Naruto?_ So, she decided to do her best to not jump into the her fellow blond genin and listen to what he was talking about.

"Inoichi-san." Naruto said bowing. "I was wondering if you could help me picking some flowers." Naruto said, spotting a almost unnoticeable blush.

" _Flowers? I he going to ask me out?"_ Ino thought, blushing, certainly pleased with the idea.

( **AN** : I was having trouble properly writing the scene in the way it played into my mind, so to make things clear: Ino could hear the conversation but she couldn't see what actually was happening because she didn't wanted to blow her cover. Ino wouldn't also got the friend term meaning, and will think that Naruto was using this to mask his embarrassment in buying flowers for asking a girl out.)

"Is the almighty Naruto Uzumaki going to ask a girl out?" Inoichi asked, amused at the genin's embarrassment.

"No…" Naruto said as his blush grew wider. He wasn't doing anything wrong, but going into a flower shop and asking for advice in flowers was kind of embarrassing. He was confident in his abilities as shinobi, but his experience with girls consisted of basic 'what-to-do' and 'what-not-to-do' pointers he got from Ayame.

"…it's for a friend."

"Naruto, that was a Kakashi level excuse right now." Inoichi said. Naruto never personally spoke with the silver haired jonin, but his tardiness was a legend amongst Konoha shinobis, so he got the message.

"No Inoichi-san, it's really for a friend." Naruto said frenetically making his best to impersonate Asuma. So he waved two fingers in the hair and next to his mouth, trying his best to emulate a smoking gesture, what was no hard task as Naruto had a practical experience in smoking.

It took some seconds for Inoichi to understand the message. He muttered a soundless " _Asuma_ ", causing Naruto to nod.

"I see, what's the relationship between your friend and the girl he likes?"

"He messed things up pretty badly, like very bad way, actually it's fair to say he fucked up with everything." Naruto explained.

Ino, who was attentively listened to the conversation from behind the door, frowned.

" _Why Naruto-kun thinks I'm mad at him?"_

"Well, let me see what I can do." Inoichi said

Ino listened to her father working and casually talking to Naruto. She leaned that he and Naruto went into a mission together some time ago and became friends. Inoichi made some questions about Naruto's "friend" relationship with the mystery girl.

Thirty minutes later, Inoichi presented his creation to Naruto proudly.

"This is one of my best works. The bouquet base is made of white tulips, meaning apologies, I adorned it with purple lilacs, meaning first love and orchid meaning femininity, finally a single red rose, meaning one love."

"Wow, my friend will be very happy." Naruto said

"Well, flower arrangement is type of language too." Inoichi explained proudly. "Different flowers carry different meanings. Sometimes even the color of the flower may change the context of the message."

"I see…" Naruto then remembered giving a flower to Ino, some time ago, before almost kissing her. But of course he wasn't going to mention that to her overprotective father that could literally fuck with his mind.

"Hmmm… Inoichi-san, what that flower means?" Naruto said pointing to a pink tulip in the balcony.

"Declaration of love." Inoichi said as if it was the most common thing in the world.

" _Oh boy…"_ Naruto thought paling, he gave Ino a flower that said he loved her. Great, just great. Now Ino probably is thinking he is pervert of sorts for saying he loved her and then in fact almost kissing her.

" _Okay, to do list: Number on: learn new jutsu. Number two: Kick some ass in the Chunin Exams. Number three: find Ino and convince her that I'm not a pervert."_

"Naruto, may I ask who's the girl your friend is asking out?" Inoichi questioned genuinely curious.

"Okay, but this can't leave this room."

"Kurenai." Naruto said in a whisper

"KURENAI?" Inoichi yelled, shocking Ino who thought that she would be receiving the flowers.

Naruto facepalmed at Inoichi's antics.

" _Great, now the entire village will know."_

Inoichi looked at Naruto. "I'm sorry but this is unbelievable. Your friend is going to ask the leader of the Ice Queens of Konoha out? Does he know about Kurenai's famed anti-pervert genjutsu?" he asked shivering a little.

He worked with Anko at the T&I department and Kurenai would stop by sometimes. He once saw a few of his coworkers making sexist jokes and then being confronted by Kurenai. His coworkers literally passed out, and Inoichi, clearly curious, decided to investigate the memories of one of them. He regretted that decision greatly, a genjutsu of this evilness should be a SS-ranked one at least. Things he saw… things that can't be unseen.

"Is that bad?" Naruto asked

"Well, let me put in this terms. I'd rather be a bloodline user in Kiri than having to see this jutsu again. If your friend really pulls that one out, he's a God amongst men, and you, you'll be his prophet." Inoichi said jokingly. Living with his daughter and wife sometimes made him miss having a men's talk with someone.

"Ok, I'll warn my friend about this." Naruto said, leaving the shop. Unknown to him, he was being followed by a very angry Ino.

* * *

" _Okay, now I gotta find Asuma."_ Naruto thought to himself as he made his way towards the meeting point in record time, being trailed by Ino.

Ino was beyond mad, she wanted to murder Naruto. He was playing with her feelings only to get close to Kurenai. The Yamanaka heiress was trailing her crush turned nemesis, when a hand grabbed her wrist and pulled her to an alley. Ino turned only to see Naruto himself.

"How?" she asked

" _Kage Bunshin no Jutsu_ (Shadow Clone Technique)" he explained, shrugging.

The surprise was soon replaced by anger as Ino remembered why she was following Naruto at first place. Then she started to throw some very unkind words to Naruto.

"YOU…ARROGANT…EGOISTIC…WOMANIZING…JERK…BASTARD…" she began her rant only to have her voice muffled by Naruto's hand.

"I don't know what I did to make you angry, but please not here." Naruto asked in a pleading tone, not taking his hand of Ino's mouth. When he finally did, he heard some more broken words.

"JERK…FLOWERS…KURENAI…SHE'S OLD ENOUGH TO BE YOUR MOTHER…LIAR…" Naruto then silenced Ino again, and looked at her with a piercing gaze.

"Ino, I'm going to show you something, if after this you are still mad I'll gladly hear everything you have to say to me, but you must promise that you'll stay quiet." As Ino nodded, he signaled for her to follow him to the rooftop of a two floor building, from where they could see the movement in the street.

Naruto turned to the still pissed Ino. "I hope you change your conclusions."

* * *

"Here, you go Asuma-sensei." The Naruto clone said handling him the bouquet. "Inoichi-san said that if this doesn't works nothing else will."

"Thanks Naruto, be at Training ground tomorrow at six a.m. sharp, there's a lot to cover in very little time." Asuma said, the clone nodded before disappearing.

Ino, who watched the scene with the original Naruto at the rooftop, looked at the genin curiously.

Sensing the glances, Naruto, turned to the Yamanaka. "I think she'll be here soon."

Five minutes after this, Kurenai appeared in front of Asuma. The blond duo couldn't hear what they were talking about, Naruto had an idea, but couldn't be sure. They saw Asuma hand Kurenai the flowers and the genjutsu mistress reluctantly accepting the gift, before leaving with Asuma towards a bistro.

" _You can't change the past, but you can build a better future, good luck Asuma-sensei."_ The jinchūriki thought

* * *

Ino, after the scene realized the mistake she made, and started to cry, out of shame, embarrassment and, most of all, for misjudging Naruto's intention.

Naruto acted quickly and enveloped Ino in a firm, yet comforting hug as the Yamanaka sobbed and muttered apologies. He then decided to whisper soothing words in Ino's ear.

After Ino recomposed herself, she couldn't even look at the Uzumaki out of shame. Naruto then held her chin, making her look in his eyes and blush.

"It's alright Ino-chan, you were wrong, but it is okay, you were feeling betrayed."

"I'm so sorry Naruto, I truly am."

"I know Ino, I know. I hate being lied to, so I understand why you were mad."

"Can you forgive me?" She pleaded

"There's nothing to forgive."

"Forgive me…" she kept pleading

Naruto then sighed "Alright, I forgive you." He said, causing Ino to jump in his arms and hug him.

Naruto held Ino for minutes that sounded like hours. He then looked at the still distraught Ino.

"Hey Ino-chan, let's leave Asuma-sensei and Kurenai-san alone, they deserve it. Tell me, you want to grab dinner with me?"

Ino blushed crimson red "A d-da-date?"

Naruto grinned "Only if you want to."

Ino, in an enviable speed hugged Naruto's arm. "It's a date."

* * *

The blond duo decided to eat sushi and went to a good, budget-friendly restaurant. Unfortunately the restaurant was full.

"Ino, how'd you like a picnic? He asked

"I'd love to Naruto-kun."

So Naruto ordered a takeout sushi. He escorted Ino to the Hokage Mountain, where they sat at the head of the Nidaime. Tonight was a full moon day, so they had picnic under the light of the moon.

"Wow, it's so beautiful." Ino said amazed at the view from Konoha.

"Yes, it's almost beautiful as you." Naruto said, causing Ino's blush to redden even more.

Despite the flirty nature of the blonds, the entire picnic was held in a friendly atmosphere, with occasional flirts from Naruto or Ino. The duo never really talked during academy, so they decided, in a unspoken agreement that their first date should be about getting to know each other rather than being romantic.

* * *

Naruto, always the gentleman was escorting Ino back home. He put a happy façade, and even the occasional hateful glares he received at the street couldn't get to him, or Ino, who was in her own world with the situation development. But deep inside, Naruto was terrified. Inoichi was a friend of his, and since Naruto decided to "adopt" Asuma as his father figure, Inoichi would be like his uncle, or even a second father to him. After the mission in Suna two months ago, he would talk to the clan head at least once a week. And he knew how protective Inoichi was of his daughter, so he prepared for the worst as he neared the Yamanaka compound. The lights were turned off. Ino noticed Naruto's apprehensive gestures and commented that her parents probably were asleep, what caused Naruto to look a bit more assured.

As they reached the door to the two floors building that hosted the flower shop in the ground floor and Inoichi's house in the second.

"Naruto" Ino said turning to the blond "thank you for everything." She said hugging him and kissing him on the cheek, before entering the shop, leaving a surprised Naruto at the door.

Naruto touched the spot where Ino kissed him, and smiled.

" _Thank you, Ino-chan."_

He then looked at the sky, it was past midnight and he had to be ready for training at six. He started to make his way from the downtown, where the wealthy Yamanaka clan compound was situated to the slums, where he lived. He also made a mental note to check real estate soon as he felt like he had accumulated enough money to buy a decent apartment somewhere.

" _Looking at the positive aspect, Inoichi didn't killed me."_

* * *

Inoichi, watched the scene with Ino and Naruto develop from a window, and was surprised when Ino kissed Naruto's cheek. His wife, who stood beside him giggled at her daughter antics, before turning to him.

"So, what do you think of him?"

"He's my number one choice for a future son-in-law." He said happily.

" _But that doesn't means I can't play with him a bit."_ Inoichi thought amusedly.

* * *

**Author's Notes:** Well, I actually learned about flower when writing this chapter. Like I promised, a slightly shorter chapter, focused on Naruto and Ino. Also, my own storyline for Asuma and Kurenai. I hope the miscarriage part wasn't that angsty, but I felt like I needed to do something like that to make Asuma and Kurenai relationship different.

After I wrote about my (lack of) skill in writing I received a lot of positive messages and that made me very happy and willing to further improve myself.

Next chapter will mark the beginning of the Chunin Exams, and I'll be honest when I say that I didn't thought that this fic would last this longer. Right now I have 379 followers and 263 favorites, so I'm making sure to keep this fic rolling.

I also received some reviews based on my answer about Tayuya and Kin, and right now I'm leaning towards keeping them alive, although I don't see them fitting well with Naruto, of course this can change in the future.

* * *

Now for the Q&A:

 **Q:** Why don't Naruto suggests to the Hokage that Sasuke and other genin that had traumatic experiences go into counselling before they go on missions outside the village

 **A:** I guess this is a possibility, but right now Naruto doesn't have the insight to do so. I also think of this as a parallel with the medic-nin issue that Tsunade pointed during the Third War. It takes money and time to do that, and Konoha doesn't seem like having that just coming of the Kyubi attack and the loss of the Uchiha Clan.

 **Q:** Will Naruto learn the Hiraishin no jutsu?

 **A:** Yes, I have a good idea on my mind about when, but I can't tell yet because it would give some major plot details.

 **Q:** Will Naruto face Neji in the final stage of the Chunin Exams or will he face someone different like Sasuke or maybe even Sakura?

 **A:** Yes, and yes. I hate not being able to answer that one clearly, but you will see my line of thought on the next few chapters.

 **Q:** Do you plan on Naruto convincing Kimimaro changing sides?

 **A:** Highly unlikely, I like Kimimaro. But he follows Orochimaru with fervor and zeal, so I believe it would be unrealistic. Besides that, he already gave signs of his terminal illness when he fought Naruto last chapter.

 **Q:** okay, no. stop with the "hampering" of progress illuminati Danzo shit. What the fuck are they going to do to him? Honestly you get dumber and fucking dumber every chapter mate. You oughta put down the keyboard because you're a fucking scrub lmao

 **A:** A flame, how lovely. Only my first one in 87 reviews, so I'd say I still have a positive balance. If you still reading this fic… you'll know Danzo's reasoning soon enough.

* * *

 **Power Stats:**

 **Team 7:**

 **Kiba Inuzuka**

 **Ninjutsu: 1.5**

 **Taijutsu: 3**

 **Genjutsu: 0.5**

 **Intelligence: 1**

 **Strength: 2.5**

 **Speed: 3.5**

 **Stamina: 2**

 **Hand seals: 1.5**

 **Total: 14.5**

 **Sakura Haruno:**

 **Ninjutsu: 2**

 **Taijutsu: 1.5**

 **Genjutsu: 2.5**

 **Intelligence: 3.5**

 **Strength: 1**

 **Speed: 0.5**

 **Stamina: 1**

 **Hand seals: 4**

 **Total: 16**

 **Sasuke Uchiha:**

 **Ninjutsu: 3**

 **Taijutsu: 2.5**

 **Genjutsu: 2**

 **Intelligence: 2.5**

 **Strength: 2**

 **Speed: 3**

 **Stamina: 2**

 **Hand seals: 3**

 **Total: 19**

 **Kakashi Hatake:**

 **Ninjutsu: 5**

 **Taijutsu: 4**

 **Genjutsu: 4**

 **Intelligence: 4.5**

 **Strength: 3.5**

 **Speed: 4**

 **Stamina: 3**

 **Hand seals: 5**

 **Total: 33**

* * *

 **Team 8:**

 **Ino Yamanaka:**

 **Ninjutsu: 2.5**

 **Taijutsu: 1**

 **Genjutsu: 2**

 **Intelligence: 3**

 **Strength: 0.5**

 **Speed: 2.5**

 **Stamina: 2**

 **Hand seals: 2.5**

 **Total: 16**

 **Chōji Akimichi:**

 **Ninjutsu: 2**

 **Taijutsu: 3**

 **Genjutsu: 1**

 **Intelligence: 0.5**

 **Strength: 3**

 **Speed: 1**

 **Stamina: 2**

 **Hand seals: 1.5**

 **Total: 14**

 **Shikamaru Nara:**

 **Ninjutsu: 2.5**

 **Taijutsu: 1.5**

 **Genjutsu: 2.5**

 **Intelligence: 5**

 **Strength: 1.5**

 **Speed: 2**

 **Stamina: 1.5**

 **Hand seals: 2.5**

 **Total: 19**

 **Kurenai Yūhi:**

 **Ninjutsu: 3.5**

 **Taijutsu: 3**

 **Genjutsu: 5**

 **Intelligence: 4**

 **Strength: 2**

 **Speed: 4**

 **Stamina: 2**

 **Hand seals: 4**

 **Total: 27.5**

I used the first databook as base, but I made some adjustments to adapt to the storyline. You can find the original stats at the wikia.

I didn't forget about Team 10, but I plan on having Naruto to learn a few more moves, so I will introduce Team 10 stats alongside the Sand siblings next chapter.

Please leave a review, I love reviews. Besides that, I've made a reference to a TV series in this chapter, the first five people to spot it will receive... ... ... ... ... ... a virtual high five from me in the next chapter.


	11. Chunin Exams - Prelude

Disclaimer: I don't own Naruto.

* * *

"So how things went?" asked Naruto as he saw the approaching figure of Asuma Sarutobi.

"Well…" He said getting into a contemplative pose. "It's just the start, Kurenai speaks with me, that's a progress, considering the first time we spoke after I came back to the village she threatened with a fate worse than death."

"But she still has to pardon me for my mistakes. And that's a very long road."

"But that's enough about me, what about you? You look surprisingly happy considering you had to wake up five in the morning."

Naruto grinned. "Well you're not the only one that went on a date yesterday."

"Bullshit. Who?"

"Ino Yamanaka."

"Ino Yamanaka as in Kurenai's pupil and Inoichi's daughter?" Asuma asked incredulously

"Yep."

"Boy, you know that you picked a troublesome girl to date right?"

* * *

Contrary to what you expected, nobody at the Nara compound sneezed, no way in hell they would be wake that early in the morning.

* * *

"I know." Naruto said chuckling "but I think I like her more than as a friend, and we're both single. Besides she's the prettiest girl in Konoha and she likes me."

"Are you going to ask her out again?"

"Yes, but not right now, I think we both need to focus on training for the exams, but after the exams are over I'm definitively asking her out." Naruto explained

"Well, good to see that we're both finally having luck finding love." Asuma commented, before adopting a serious posture. "But now we've got work to do."

* * *

 _A week later, with one week remaining to the start of the Chunin Exams._

"Come with intent to kill." Asuma said to the impassive figure of Naruto Uzumaki.

The blond genin took out his knives from his weapons pouch and entered his newly developed _Suraiken_ (Slicing Fist) offensive instance. Standing sidewards toward his opponent, with a visible base, on his tiptoes and his hands guarding his chest and waistline this didn't looked like an offensive instance of any sorts, but once Naruto sprinted towards Asuma you could see the offence clearly. This particular usage of the Suraiken consisted of constantly attacking the opponent, aiming to affect his balance and drain his energy in order to weak them with constant, non-fatal, restraining hits.

Naruto used the tiptoes to slightly increase his speed before throwing an uppercut slash towards Asuma. The bearded jonin saw the move and used his own knives to block the strike. Taking advantage of the situation, Naruto aimed a left leg kick towards Asuma knee. The son of the Sandaime forced Naruto's knife back and used his now free right arm to target a strike a Naruto's incoming leg. Seeing the opponent's intention, the genin changed his strike mid-air and used Asuma's now extended arm as a launching pad to jump and do a spinning roundhouse kick at Asuma's face, propelling the jonin backwards.

"Impressive Naruto, I wasn't fighting at my full capabilities, but the fact you managed to land a hit of this magnitude is still an impressive feat."

"Now let's see your ninjutsu."

" _Fūton: Fūjin no Jutsu_ (Wind Release: Dust Cloud Technique)" the jonin said performing the technique and using his hands in front of his mouth to direct a stream wind infused with dust to amplify the cutting power.

" _Fūton: Yae Hayate_ (Wind Release: Multi-Layered Gale)." Naruto said creating a three layers vacuum wall, which barely held the attack. As the wall dispelled, Naruto glanced a _Katon: Gōkakyū no Jutsu_ (Fire Release: Great Fireball Technique) coming at him with worrying speed.

" _He used the dust to disrupt my field of vision."_

The jinchūriki then made a _Kage Bunshin no Jutsu_ (Shadow Clone Technique) that threw the original upwards before getting hit by the Fireball and dispelling. The blond, still in airborne decided to take the initiative.

" _Fūton: Renkūdan_ (Wind Release: Drilling Air Bullet)" he fired three medium sized bullets in succession.

Asuma looked unfazed, as he launched his _Katon: Gōryūka no Jutsu_ (Fire Release: Great Dragon Fire Technique) a technique that would be described as a mixture of the _Katon: Gōkakyū no Jutsu_ (Fire Release: Great Fireball Technique) and the _Katon: Ryūka no Jutsu_ (Fire Release: Dragon Fire Technique), this jutsu launched a dragon faced large fireball that easily consumed the Air bullets and headed towards Naruto, still in airborne.

The Uzumaki then took his chakra knives and infused them with wind natured chakra before launching the knives at the _Gōryūka_ , successfully managing to reduce the area of the jutsu that it barely missed him.

Seeing the genin defenses open, Asuma rushed forward. Only to be surprised by Naruto's new _Katon: Haijingakure no Jutsu_ (Fire Release: Hiding in Ash and Dust Technique). Asuma cursed his stupidity, this was one of the many techniques that he taught him as part of his help with his date with Kurenai. He quickly stepped back , careful to not touch the smokescreen Naruto created, aware that it burned whoever came in contact with the jutsu. He stood in a defensive position, waiting to Naruto's next move. He felt a strike coming to his right and promptly dodged. Glancing he realized that Naruto probably used the smokescreen to recover his knives, and readied himself for another strike from the same direction.

The expected strike indeed came, but to Asuma's surprise, from his left. The jonin managed to escape this other strike only due to his above average reflexes and now was perplexed. His bewilderment was replaced by sheer incredulousness when he found himself being assaulted once again from both directions by the knives.

" _Now I'm serious. WHAT THE FUCK?"_

" _He must be using a Kage Bunshin to corner me."_ Asuma theorized after dodging yet another strike from the knives.

"This ends now." He said throwing two deadly precise kunai at the smokescreen, being careful to not target any vital point.

Asuma thought he was successful when the relentless knife strikes stopped coming. He realized he was wrong when Naruto appeared in front of him with his katana pointing at his neck.

"No, this is the end." Naruto said pointing his katana to Asuma's neck.

An astonished Asuma could only raise his hands in defeat. He became even more surprised when the Naruto was pointing the katana to his throat turned out to be a clone, and the original jumped from atop a tree as the smokescreen dissipated.

"How?" was the only question Asuma could ask.

"My new jutsu, let me demonstrate to you." Naruto said holding his hands together in the Snake seal.

To Asuma's amazement, Naruto's chakra knives that rested on the ground began to levitate, and soon were racing at a tree with impressive speed.

Naruto grinned, before explaining proudly. "I call this _Fūton: Suiran Reppū_ (Wind Release: Verdant Mountain Gale), it allows me to control my knives remotely by infusing them with potent wind chakra."

Asuma was slack-jawed. "You gotta teach me how to do that."

"Don't worry I will when I have free time."

"Naruto, I noticed that in this fight you used a totally different strategy. I mean, usually you wouldn't think of planning too many steps ahead. It has to do with that mission in Suna right?"

Naruto's happy mood soon changed to a neutral one, which carried hints of disappointment.

"I fucked things up, Asuma-sensei. I am lucky to be alive. Worst of all, my teammates could have died. Because of dumb mistakes from me, Suna could have lost their Kazekage, and worst of all Shikamaru, Chōji and Ino-chan fathers could have died. All of this because I was overconfident in my abilities and always thought the opponent couldn't surprise me."

Asuma looked thoughtfully at Naruto, before offering him his wisdom. "Naruto it's great that you learnt from your mistakes, but don't let the 'what ifs' consume you. Thankfully nobody died and you matured from the experience. But don't lose your essence, if you try too hard to emulate someone else you won't be successful and will lose yourself in the process. Of course there are exceptions, like this spar. You constantly did the unexpected and managed to make me surrender, what is a feat to be proud of. But don't think for a second that you won't be surprised again, or that you won't have to change approaches again. Focus on your skills and you won't be surprised by the opponent's ones. Know yourself instead of trying to discover the enemy. When you learn that, there'll be nothing else I have to teach you."

"Thanks for the advice, Asuma-sensei." Naruto said, bowing.

"No problem kid, I learnt as much as you."

"Before I forget: I've found someone to teach you Raiton." Asuma said, causing Naruto's ears to perk up.

"Who?"

"Kakashi Hatake."

* * *

Ino stood in front of the Haruno house after knocking on the door two times. After waiting for three minutes and still without answer, she was turning her back when he heard the door opening.

"Oh. It's you." Sakura said

"Hey, Sakura. Can we talk?" Ino asked trying to keep her polite tone.

"No forehead brow? What happened?"

"Sakura, I came here trying to repair our friendship but I understand that this was impulsive of my part." Ino said angrily turning her back again.

"No…wait." Sakura said. "I'm not giving up on Sasuke so we could be friends again."

"And you don't need to." Ino said grinning and remembering her date with Naruto.

"Okay…" the cherry blossom said narrowing her eyes "…who are you and what you did to Ino-pig?"

Before the Yamanaka could answer, the former best friends were surprised by a barrage of water balloons thrown by a kid no older than nine. The kid wears grey pants, a yellow t-shirt with a red Konoha symbol, green academy googles on his forehead and extremely long blue scarf around his neck. He has a brown colored and spiky hair, and his eyes are black.

"Bull's-eye." He said as the balloons hit the duo.

Ino and Sakura stood still for about five seconds, before Sakura turned to Ino.

"Truce?"

"Truce."

And then the first Konoha monkey hunt started.

* * *

Meanwhile, Naruto was making his way to his house. Asuma explained that Kakashi agreed to teach him the basics of Raiton ninjutsu. However he was busy during morning and afternoon training Team 7, so he could only train Naruto at night. It was still morning, but Naruto decided to go home and sleep until evening as he wanted to be in the best of his capabilities when training. He could have used the _Shunshin no Jutsu_ (Body Flicker Technique) to get home faster but he decided to walk instead, he had free time and with one week left before the start of the exams he would have the chance to see the kind of competition he would be facing as shinobi from other villages had already reached the village.

As he was walking in the main street he heard some shouting, and turned out to see Ino and Sakura arguing with a girl, around sixteen with blonde hair, although leaning towards a more opaque tone, being noticeably different than his and Ino's blond, tied in four pigtails and carrying a giant fan on her back and a guy, despite his use of makeup, with an entirely black outfit, with exception of a circle in the middle of his belly area, that had white outline and was split vertically in a pale yellow and red halves. The boy's had a cat-ear like hood covering his entire face, so Naruto could only see the makeup, his black eyes and finally the Suna Hitai-ate.

What concerned the Konoha genin most was that he was strangling Konohamaru, despite the protests from Ino and Sakura. So he decided to step in.

"Hey girly boy, drop the kid."

The Suna nin, turned to him angrily.

"Who are you calling girly?"

"The only guy I see wearing makeup."

"IT'S A WAR PAINT" he yelled

"Whatever" Naruto said shrugging before deciding to adopt a different approach. "I take you're here for the Chunin Exams, so I recommend you to drop the kid. Despite our alliance I'm sure it'll cause a diplomatic incident if a Suna shinobi is caught strangling the grandson of the Sandaime Hokage, even if you both are children of the Kazekage." The jinchūriki said, releasing a bit of killing intent.

The black clad man promptly released his grip on Konohamaru and his sister turned to Naruto.

"How do you know we are children of the Kazekage?" she demanded

"Because I saw your father once, the make-up guy there" he said pointing to her brother who promptly yelled about war paint "has very similar face features and the same eyes as Rasa. You share some of his facial features and I assumed that you're his sister, is that correct?" the girl just nodded.

"Besides that, the guy standing in the tree is almost a carbon copy of the Kazekage, with exception of his eyes, that are similar to yours. By the way, you both can go down now, I assure you that there won't be any fights here." He said surprising everyone present.

Sasuke who was in fact hiding on the tree promptly came down standing beside Naruto, who turned to him.

"Thanks for having my back Sasuke." He said and received an almost unperceptive nod from the Uchiha.

In the same moment, a guy, shorter than everyone else, with exception of Konohamaru of course, appeared in a swirl on sand. The boy has spiky red hair, a tattoo with the kanji for "love" in his right forehead, and teal eyes, similar to his sister.

"Kankurō, Temari, you are a shame to Sunagakure." He said in threatening tone to his siblings, causing them to cower in fear.

He then turned to the Konoha genin duo, and bowed "I apologize for my siblings actions, my name is Gaara and those are my siblings Kankurō and Temari."

"It's no problem, clearly a misunderstanding, by the way my name is Naruto Uzumaki."

"I seek proving my existence against you, Naruto Uzumaki of Konoha." He said before turning to the siblings "We're leaving."

As the sand trio left, Ino had hearts in her eyes for Naruto dealing with the Suna. Sakura was impressed. And Sasuke was just bothered that Gaara, a tough opponent, clearly ignored him in spite of Naruto. The blond jinchūriki crouched a bit so he could stand in eye level with Konohamaru.

"So, what that was all about?"

"I was minding my own business when those two scary ugly girls started to hunt me." Konohamaru said, causing Naruto to narrow his eye and Sakura and Ino fume with anger.

"And you expect me to believe that? Now tell me what really happened."

"Okay, I pranked them, so I could be like you." Konohamaru said embarrassed

Naruto sighed "Konohamaru, how many times I have to explain you that? I pranked a lot, I still do sometimes, it keeps your reflexes sharp and prepares you for real missions, by having you to think on your feet. But I never pranked anybody that don't deserved. Look at Ino-chan and Sakura-san. Okay, they are so pretty that it's almost a crime" he said causing the before mentioned girls to blush "but they never did anything wrong."

He then turned to Sakura and Ino and bowed "I apologize for Konohamaru's actions."

"Hey boss let's prank someone right now." Konohamaru said enthusiastically.

"Again, next time." Naruto said before poking Konohamaru's forehead, surprising Sasuke as it reminded him of Itachi.

As Konohamaru left pouting, Sasuke turned to Naruto.

"Hey, Naruto fight me."

"I can't accept your request right now, I have important matters to attend to. However let's fight during the Chunin Exams, I see you on the top, and I feel like you belong there too. Goodbye Sasuke-san, Sakura-san, Ino-chan." He said before disappearing in swirl of leaves.

* * *

The third training ground, where Naruto was scheduled to meet with Kakashi was a calming sight. There is a view of mountains in the landscape and a large and deep river with forests in the both of its sides. There is a glade and in its center there are three stumps lined side by side. Next to the training ground there was a kunai shaped memorial, which honored those who died in service of Konoha. Naruto knew about Kakashi's fame of being late, so he came prepared, he bought a few books, but he decided to pay his respects to the fallen shinobi of the leaf.

"Paying your respects to the deceased?" came a calm and lazy voice from behind

"Yes." As Naruto turned, he saw the infamous copy-ninja Kakashi standing in front of him.

"Kakashi-san." Naruto said bowing "thanks for taking time to teach me Raiton."

" _He looks exactly like you sensei."_ Kakashi thought as he glanced at Naruto

"It's no problem, I've heard great things about you kid, let's see if they are indeed true." He said handling a leaf to Naruto.

"I take that you are well versed in Fūton?" as the blond nodded, he proceeded to speak "the first steps of Raiton training are similar to Fūton training. For the first step you should use your Raiton chakra to crumble a leaf partially, the second step consists of totally crumbling the leaf in one burst." Kakashi explained. "My personal hint is that you should focus on fluidity and precision rather than cutting power like you did with wind."

Naruto focused his chakra, and in his first try he impressed Kakashi and himself as he managed to crumble the leaf completely.

"That means I'm ready for step three?" Naruto asked still a little taken aback by the result of the training.

Kakashi gave his trademark eye smile. "Impressive Naruto, now for step three…"

" _He has the same kind of geniality of Minato-sensei and the mindset of Kushina-sama… I wonder what he'll be able to accomplish."_

* * *

 _Five days later_

"You managed to learn the jutsu I gave you?"

"Yep, Kakashi-sensei."

" _Raiton: Jibashi_ (Lightning Release: Electromagnetic Murder)." Naruto said, creating a stream of lightning with his hands. This jutsu was a short ranged attack, used mainly to discharge a paralyzing stream on lightning on the opponent although if infused with enough power it could kill the opponent with a cardiac arrest.

" _Raiton: Denkō Noroshi_ (Lightning Release: Lightning Signal Fire)." The jinchūriki said, forming the dragon sign, and raising his hand to the sky, releasing a burst of light. The _Raiton: Denkō Noroshi_ could be used offensively but it was a weak surge of lightning, with extreme shine, so it was better used as a signal of sorts, in order to indicate your position to allies.

" _Raiton: Kage Bunshin no Jutsu_ (Lightning Release: Shadow Clone Technique)". Naruto said creating a Raiton infused Shadow Clone. This was a modified version of the _Kage Bunshin no Jutsu_ , that held some differences to the original one. It consumes a lot more chakra, making even Naruto, probably owner of the biggest chakra pool in Konoha, to only be able to create twenty five clones and not risk chakra exhaustion. The clones are still able to use jutsu and physically exist, but they had a shorter life span than the regular ones. What made this technique impressive is that upon dispelling from a hit, the clone wouldn't send the chakra back to the user, but instead reverting back to lightning, therefore electrocuting anyone in close range.

" _Raiton: Sandāboruto_ (Lightning Release: Thunderbolt)." After performing the required handseals, Naruto extended his arms sidewards, releasing two powerful thunderbolts from his hands.

" _Raiton: Raijū Tsuiga_ (Lightning Release: Lightning Beast Tracking Fang)." Naruto's favorite Raiton technique, the _Raiton: Raijū Tsuiga_ was created by Kakashi himself, using his _Raikiri_ (Lightning Cutter) as a base. It lost a lot of power when compared to the original version, but it could be used from mid-range. It consisted of forming a hound, in Kakashi's use, or a fox, as Naruto adapted the jutsu, of pure Raiton chakra and launching it towards the enemy. The hound, or fox, would still be connected to the user's hand, making it more unpredictable as the jutsu caster could freely manipulate the speed and movements of the technique.

"Very good Naruto, you progressed better than I expected." Kakashi complimented the genin

"Thanks, Kakashi-sensei, without your guidance that progress would be impossible."

"Now, you only have two days to the start of the Chunin Exams, so our training is over. I'd like to work with you again after the exams, but right now you need to rest." He explained

"Naruto, I knew your parents" Kakashi said, causing the genin's eyes to light up "I'm forbidden to tell you about their identities as they had powerful enemies in the elemental nations, but I can answer some questions about them, there's anything you'd like to know about them?"

"Yes. They loved me? Or they abandoned me because of the fox?"

"They loved you very much Naruto, they died protecting you in the night of the Kyubi attack." Kakashi explained

"I see, thanks for the training and your answer Kakashi-sensei."

"You only wanted to know one thing about them?"

"Yes, it was the only thing that mattered." Naruto said smiling

* * *

Naruto was resting at his home when he noticed the scroll Idate gave him when he left Tea Country.

" _He said to open before the Chunin Exams, might as well check it now."_

* * *

" _Naruto,_

 _Again thanks for helping us during the race and most of all thanks for killing Aoi, it'll help to clear my name with the village. I know that your services were paid accordingly by Jirōchō-sama, but I feel like I deserve to give your team a thank you gift too. I don't have money, so I can help you by providing intel of the Chunin Exams. The Chunin Exams in Konoha re held in a three stages format. The first stage is a written test, the second is a survival training in the Training Ground 44_ _th_ _, also known as the Forest of Death. Finally the third stage is a series of one on one matches. I never got past the first stage, but I can assure you some things: the questions in this test aren't regular ones, it takes at least a Chunin level intelligence shinobi to answer them, so be prepared to cheat your way through the exam. Also, if your examiner happens to be Ibiki Morino, my brother, you'll face an extra challenge, the tenth question of the test. He will say that you can choose between taking the final question and risking being a genin for life should you fail correctly answering the question or you can opt to forfeit the exam and take it again the next time. However the tenth question is the choice itself, so you shouldn't worry about the drawback of failing the question._

 _That being said, on a personal level I'd like to inform you that I plan on coming back to Konoha soon, so expect to see me there._

 _Good luck,_

 _Idate Morino"_

* * *

"That changes a lot of things. I must inform Shino and Hinata."

Ino stood watching the conversation between Team 7 and Kabuto, a self-proclaimed exam expert, develop. She wasn't paying that much attention as she was eyeing the door every five seconds, waiting for her Naruto-kun to show up.

"Do you have personal information on individual applicants?" Sasuke asked

"Yes, I'll be happy to share it with you." Was Kabuto reply

"I want info on Gaara of Suna and Rock Lee and Naruto Uzumaki from Konoha." Sasuke said, catching Ino's attention as he said the last name.

"You know their names? No sweat then." he said channeling chakra into three previously blank cards.

"First up is Rock Lee from Konoha. He's a year older than you and completed 40 D-ranked missions and 22 C-ranked ones as part of Team 9, under the tutelage of Maito Guy. It's his first time applying for the exams. His teammates are Tenten Higarashi and Neji Hyūga. Rock Lee is notable for his physical proficiency and mastery of taijutsu although he doesn't has any particular talents besides that. "

"Next is Gaara of the Sand. 16 C-ranked missions and 2 B-ranked missions. This is impressive as most genin aren't allowed to go past C-rank. Teammates are his siblings, Kankurō and Temari, under the leadership of Baki. As he's from a different village I don't have any other info about him, the only noteworthy thing is that he never suffered a single scratch during those missions."

"Finally, Naruto Uzumaki" Kabuto said, before widening his eyes and rechanneling chakra into the card. "That can't be."

"What?" Sasuke asked irritably

"His record, it is even more impressible than Gaara's."

"Naruto Uzumaki of Konoha: completed 30 D-rank missions and 10 C-rank missions under Team 10, having Asuma Sarutobi as sensei and Shino Aburame and Hinata Hyūga as teammates. However it says that Naruto Uzumaki also completed one solo B-ranked and another solo A-ranked. It also states that he completed a S-ranked one under classified information. He also claimed the bounty of missing-nin Aoi Rokushō , from Konoha that was serving as a jonin in Amegakure. This feat made Ame put a 750,000 ryō bounty for his head. His skills lie in taijutsu and Fūton and Katon ninjutsu. His perfect mission record in his first year made him one of the few genin in Konoha's history to achieve that kind of record. Notable members of this select group include Orochimaru, Minato Namikaze, Kakashi Hatake, Shisui Uchiha and Itachi Uchiha."

Kiba Inuzuka, whilst happy for his friend's success was also jealous of his achievements.

Sakura Haruno was very impressed and blushed a little as she recalled that Naruto called her beautiful during their last encounter.

Shikamaru Nara, was also impressed, and happy for his friend, but made a mental note to avoid hanging with Naruto outside of the village as bounty hunters tended to be very troublesome.

Chōji Akimichi was thinking on the same lines of the Nara, but his biggest concern right now was that he was nearing the end of his bag of chips.

Sasuke Uchiha was impressed, he really was. However this was overlapped by his anger at being surpassed as he was the best in academy. Naruto, achieving this status and fitting alongside his sensei and two legend of his clan, including the man he wanted to kill, was a proof that he was a strong rival, one that should be defeated.

Ino felt proud of her love interest, she was proud actually. Her amazement was replaced by worry as she learnt that the boy she liked had already risked his life several times and already had a bounty on his head. She made a mental note to scold Naruto for being too awesome and carefree later on.

As in a clue, the Uzumaki showed up in the room, followed by Shino and Hinata.

Kiba was the first to notice him. "DUDE! Do you know Ame has a bounty on your head?"

Naruto raised an eyebrow "Really? How much?"

"750,000 ryō"

"BULLSHIT."

"It's true, they say you killed one of their jonin…" Kiba tried to explain only to be cut off by Naruto.

"I know, what I'm saying is that I deserve more than 750,000 ryō. I'd say I'm valued at 2,000,000 at least." He said earning chuckles from Kiba, Shikamaru, Chōji and even Sasuke and Shino.

The chuckling was interrupted by a very angry Ino, unleashing killing intent and surprisingly being backed up by her eternal rival, Sakura and the shy Hinata Hyūga.

"This isn't funny Naruto." Ino said getting nods of approval from Sakura and Hinata

"Ino-pig is right, you should be worried about bounty hunters."

"Sorry Sakura-san, but I disagree, I know that there'll be some people after my head, but I'm not going to worry about them, because I trust myself, and most of all, because I'm promising right here, right now that I'm not going down easily."

Ino was ready to argument once again, when an imposing man, wearing a blue uniform, and darker blue coat.

"Enough with the lover's quarrel." He said, causing Naruto and the three girls to blush.

"Because the Chunin Exam begins now."

* * *

 **Author's note:** A speedy update as I felt overly excited with the fic surpassing 400 followers and being near to the mark of a hundred reviews. I was going to end this chapter in the start of the second part of the exams, but I changed my mind to be able to provide you with some reading material for the weekend. I personally enjoyed writing about the Asuma x Naruto spar, Naruto's training with Kakashi and writing some parallels of Naruto and Itachi's acts and backgrounds.

This chapter marks the start of the NaruSaku with a few moments, setting the base for what I plan to do later on. For the fans of this pairing, I'd suggest you to eagerly wait for the interlude month between the preliminaries and the finals, as this will be the changing point of their relationship.

Next chapter will cover the end of the first part of the exam and the forest of death. Then it'll also introduce Karin, although I only plan on developing this pairing after the exams. Now, for a brief Q&A.

* * *

 **Q:** Will Naruto still have the Toad Summon or something different?

 **A:** He will keep the toads, as I couldn't think of anything more innovative for this fic. His usage of the toads will be different, however.

 **Q:** Karin and Naruto's encounter?

 **A:** I couldn't create anything new, so I plan on having Naruto to show up instead of Sasuke.

 **Q:** Will Naruto revive the Uzumaki clan? What about the other girls in the harem?

 **A:** Naruto stated two chapters ago that this is really his objective to revive the clan, I'd say this is his final objective. For the other girls besides Ino, Sakura and Karin… I'm still not sure I may be leaning towards Hinata and maybe Samui, but this is still undefined.

 **Q:** Will Hiruzen tell Naruto about his parents or will someone else tell him and how pissed will Naruto be when he finds out?

 **A:** Hiruzen will be present when Naruto learns the truth, but he isn't the one directly telling him. And pissed, very pissed, he will try to pull a Sasuke, if you know what I mean.

 **Q:** Will Naruto be angry at Jiraiya for leaving him in the village when they first meet or will Naruto understand why Jiraiya wasn't there for him?

 **A:** His relationship with Jiraya is different from anything I've read in fanfictions so far. The original Naruto's respect towards Jiraiya leans towards the fact of Jiraiya being someone who took interest in him when everyone else spurned him. In this fic, Naruto had already lots of people acknowledging him, so he won't have that kind of respect for him at first.. I'd say that his first interactions towards Jiraiya won't actually be friendly ones.

 **Q:** About Inoichi entering Naruto's mind.

 **A:** Inoichi isn't dumb, he knows that entering Naruto's mind is a one way ticked to meet the Kyubi. But Naruto doesn't knows that yet, so Inoichi will use this as an empty threat of sorts. I've read some excellent fics that put Inoichi as a bit of father figure to Naruto, so I plan to emulate this here. Naruto will always regard Asuma as his "father" but due to his relationship with Ino, Inoichi will become really his second father.

* * *

 **Power Stats:**

 **Team 10:**

 **Shino Aburame**

 **Ninjutsu: 3.5**

 **Taijutsu: 1.5**

 **Genjutsu: 2**

 **Intelligence: 3**

 **Strength: 1.5**

 **Speed: 1.5**

 **Stamina: 2**

 **Hand seals: 2**

 **Total: 17**

 **Hinata Hyūga:**

 **Ninjutsu: 2**

 **Taijutsu: 3**

 **Genjutsu: 1.5**

 **Intelligence: 2.5**

 **Strength: 1**

 **Speed: 3**

 **Stamina: 1.5**

 **Hand seals: 2**

 **Total: 16.5**

 **Naruto Uzumaki:**

 **Ninjutsu: 4**

 **Taijutsu: 4**

 **Genjutsu: 1**

 **Intelligence: 4**

 **Strength: 2**

 **Speed: 4**

 **Stamina: 5**

 **Hand seals: 2.** **5**

 **Total: 26.5**

 **Asuma Sarutobi:**

 **Ninjutsu: 4.5**

 **Taijutsu: 4**

 **Genjutsu: 3.5**

 **Intelligence: 4**

 **Strength: 4**

 **Speed: 4.5**

 **Stamina: 3.5**

 **Hand seals: 3.5**

 **Total: 31.5**

 **Three Sand Siblings:**

 **Temari:**

 **Ninjutsu: 3**

 **Taijutsu: 2.5**

 **Genjutsu: 1.5**

 **Intelligence: 2.5**

 **Strength: 3**

 **Speed: 2.5**

 **Stamina: 2**

 **Hand seals: 2**

 **Total: 19**

 **Kankurō:**

 **Ninjutsu: 3.5**

 **Taijutsu: 1.5**

 **Genjutsu: 1.5**

 **Intelligence: 2**

 **Strength: 2.5**

 **Speed: 2**

 **Stamina: 2.5**

 **Hand seals: 3.5**

 **Total: 19**

 **Gaara:**

 **Ninjutsu: 4.5**

 **Taijutsu: 2**

 **Genjutsu: 2.5**

 **Intelligence: 3.5**

 **Strength: 2**

 **Speed: 3**

 **Stamina: 4.5**

 **Hand seals: 4**

 **Total: 26**

 **Baki:**

 **Ninjutsu: 4**

 **Taijutsu: 3.5**

 **Genjutsu: 3.5**

 **Intelligence: 3.5**

 **Strength: 4**

 **Speed: 4.5**

 **Stamina: 2.5**

 **Hand seals: 4**

 **Total: 29.5**

* * *

 **Extra (Naruto's full jutsu listing):**

As Naruto learnt several different jutsu early in his career, I decided to put up a full listing of jutsu by order of apprenticeship. Keep in mind that not every single jutsu here was used.

 _Henge no Jutsu_ (Transformation Technique)

 _Kawarimi no Jutsu_ (Substitution Technique)

 _Bunshin no Jutsu_ (Clone Technique)

 _Katon: Endan_ (Fire Release: Flame Bullet)

 _Katon: Gōkakyū no Jutsu_ (Fire Release: Great Fireball Technique)

 _Katon: Hōsenka no Jutsu_ (Fire Release: Phoenix Sage Fire Technique)

 _Mikazuki no Mai_ (Dance of the Crescent Moon)

 _Kage Bunshin no Jutsu_ (Shadow Clone Technique)

 _Katon: Karyūdan_ (Fire Release: Fire Dragon Bullet)

 _Katon: Karyū Endan_ (Fire Release: Fire Dragon Flame Bullet)

 _Fūton: Daitoppa_ (Wind Release: Great Breakthrough)

 _Fūton: Reppūshō_ (Wind Release: Gale Palm)

 _Fūton: Shinkūgyoku_ (Wind Release: Vacuum Sphere)

 _Hien_ (Flying Swallow)

 _Fūton: Kaiten Daitoppa_ (Wind Release: Rotating Great Breakthrough) **(original technique)**

 _Fūton: Taifūikka_ (Wind Release: Passing Typhoon)

 _Fūton: Yae Hayate_ (Wind Release: Multi-Layered Gale)

 _Fūton: Renkūdan_ (Wind Release: Drilling Air Bullet)

 _Kaze no Yaiba_ (Blade of Wind) (incomplete)

 _Fūton: Suiran Reppū_ (Wind Release: Verdant Mountain Gale)

 _Katon: Ryūka no Jutsu_ (Fire Release: Dragon Fire Technique)

 _Katon: Haisekishō_ (Fire Release: Ash Pile Burning)

 _Shunshin no Jutsu_ (Body Flicker Technique)

 _Katon: Gōryūka no Jutsu_ (Fire Release: Great Dragon Fire Technique)

 _Katon: Haijingakure no Jutsu_ (Fire Release: Hiding in Ash and Dust Technique)

 _Raiton: Jibashi_ (Lightning Release: Electromagnetic Murder)

 _Raiton: Denkō Noroshi_ (Lightning Release: Lightning Signal Fire)

 _Raiton: Kage Bunshin no Jutsu_ (Lightning Release: Shadow Clone Technique)

 _Raiton: Sandāboruto_ (Lightning Release: Thunderbolt)

 _Raiton: Raijū Tsuiga_ (Lightning Release: Lightning Beast Tracking Fang)

So, 32 jutsu as a six month genin, not bad at all.

* * *

I'm still working on next update, so I'd estimate it to be ready Wednesday.


	12. Chunin Exams - Forest I

Disclaimer: Don't own Naruto, unfortunately. Check end of chapter for author's notes, Q&A and a special treat.

* * *

Naruto was sitting in a chair with a bored expression. If Idate didn't gave him the extremely valuable information about the exams he would probably be nervous now. Like the rookies from Teams 7 and 8. However he knew how this worked, and with the knowledge, he met with his team before the start of the exams. This test was all about cheating, Naruto himself saw the nine questions, and he could only answer two or maybe three correctly. His team would probably fare even worse than him. However this was about cheating, so he wasn't worried. Before the exam begin, he came up with a strategy with his team: Hinata would use her Byakugan to copy the answers of one of the Chunins infiltrated on the room, then Shino's bugs would mark her answers to him and Naruto by landing on the correct alternatives. There was no risk of discovery as the kikaichū Shino handpicked for the task were extremely small.

So with his free time, he decided to check how competition was faring. Team 8 used Ino's _Shintenshin no Jutsu_ (Mind Body Switch Technique) to copy a Chunin's answers and then to pass it to Shikamaru, who proceeded to catch Chōji with his _Kagemane no Jutsu_ (Shadow Possession Technique) and simultaneously filled both papers.

The team 9, consisting of Lee, Tenten and Neji was employing a similar tactic to Team 10, with Neji copying the answers with the Byakugan and Tenten using her headband as mirror to give Lee the answers.

The Gaara guy formed an eye using sand and was copying from a chunin. The makeup guy was trying, and failing miserably to not get caught cheating using a puppet.

Looking to the members of Team 7 he saw that Kiba was sweating bullets and the ever composed and emotionless Sasuke Uchiha had a trail of sweat running in his face, however Naruto could see his Sharingan active, probably copying the writing of one of the chunins.

Sakura was her team exception, Naruto knew the girl was smart, her intelligence was one of the things that made Naruto notice, and even develop a crush on the girl. The pink haired beauty was answering the test, without cheating and looked very comfortable with it. Naruto considered himself to be intelligent, if you compared his grades at academy with Sakura or even Ino, who was almost in the same level as Sakura, he would lose. Of course he was hiding his true colors, but even if he was taking things seriously he doubted he would have best grades than the best friends/rivals duo. Sakura and Ino had what Naruto called booksmarts, solving math problems, deciphering a coded message, knowing who the wife of the second daimyo of Land of Fire was. Basically all things deemed as useless when you went to the field according to most shinobi. Naruto had a different view, whilst he not deemed the booksmarts as totally useless, he regarded it a highly situational knowledge. Naruto and Shikamaru had a different type of intelligence, a tactical smart one, although Naruto considered himself well versed in the street smarts one too.

The street smart was all about quick thinking and perception, besides some foreseeing of the opponent's behavior. Naruto, due to his pranking ability was a master in this particular type of intelligence. He was pretty confident that he could easily make his way through any building in the entire village, perform a prank and leave unrecognized. His Kage Bunshin and Henge clearly helped with achieving this, but he had his fair share of knowledge about the targets behavior to be able to formulate a plan, that, usually, was an unorthodox one. Naruto's street smarts usage in battle was also interesting, although he usually refrained from using this particular approach due to his "high-risk high-reward dynamics".

The only two times Naruto could remember using that line of thinking were his fights with Aoi Rokushō and Kimimaro. When he fought Aoi, his biggest concern was securing Idate's and his team safety, reason why he volunteered to fight the jonin. Naruto's high risk high-reward move in this fight was impaling himself in a non-vital area with the Raijin no Ken, and use the opening to mutilate Aoi's right arm and behead him. The gamble was ultimately successful as Aoi overestimated him and Shino and Hinata were able to take care of his team beforehand.

The second time he thought about using this kind of tactic was when he was being poked full of holes by Kimimaro. He thought about faking that he was already dead, whilst he would still have at least a few more minutes of life, to do a surprise attack at Kimimaro and Orochimaru. Of course the attack wouldn't have the slightest chance of changing the battle, but would be a distraction to prevent them from killing the Ino-Shika-Chō and the Kazekage. Naruto then would use his Shadow clones in conjunction with the Henge to buy them time. If he hadn't died from the wounds, blood loss or chakra exhaustion, he would make sure to kill himself, with a Katon jutsu, to prevent the enemy from getting his hands on his Uzumaki clan heritage or, in the worst of the cases, the Kyubi. Thankfully, he didn't need to use that tactic as the Kazekage and the Ino-Shika-Chō kept stalling the Sannin, buying time for the reinforcements to arrive.

Naruto was brought out of his reflections when he heard Ibiki announcing the tenth question. Naruto made sure to inform his team about the true meaning of the question because he knew that Team 10 had to make a statement. The Hyūga council already disrespected Hinata and Naruto feared that they would use a possible failure to force the Caged Bird Seal on her. Shino understood that and agreed. However, Naruto didn't disclosed the information to the other teams. He thought that, if they weren't able to get the objective of the test, they would only be walking towards an early grave. This was a test after all.

As Ibiki finished his announcement, Naruto saw cries of outrage from several of the genin present in the room. As the uproar cleared, several genin made their way out of the room. Naruto once again checked the Teams he knew. Everybody seemed confident. Excluding one Sakura Haruno. The girl reluctantly was halfway through raising her hand in resignation. Keyword was, because she was affected by a genjutsu. Naruto, using his ever progressing sensory abilities, managed to trace the genjutsu back to: Sasuke?

As Naruto realized what happened he felt angry, the Uchiha deliberately casted a genjutsu on her own teammate so he could progress to the next phase. Sakura seemed to understand the message the Uchiha sent, as she lowered her hand and her head. Naruto could only shake his head at the action of the Uchiha.

* * *

"So to the seventy two of you who still stayed here, congratulations on passing the first stage exams." Ibiki was probably going to make a speech about the importance of the test, but he was interrupted by a woman breaking the windows as she jumped into a cannonball form.

" _Not this shit again."_ Ibiki thought

The Cannonball form woman then threw two kunai, which hanged a banner on the walls.

"THE AMANZING SEXY AND STILL SINGLE ANKO MITARASHI, PROCTOR OF THE SECOND STAGE OF THE CHUNIN EXAMS." Was the writing on the banner.

Everyone present sweatdropped at Anko's antics, with exception of Kiba and the makeup guy from Suna, who instead drooled at Anko's revealing outfit.

Anko had light brown pupil less eyes and had a violet hair, tied in a spiky ponytail, however her most recognizable feature were her choice of clothes. She wears a fitted mesh body suit that covers her from her neck down to her thigh. Over this, she wears a tan overcoat and dark orange mini-skirt.

"Don't celebrate just yet. I'm the second stage proctor Anko Mitarashi. Meet me at the forest of death in 30 minutes." She said before disappearing via Shunshin.

As Naruto was leaving together with his team he heard Ibiki's voice calling him. He instructed his team to go ahead of him as he went to talk with Ibiki.

* * *

"You're Naruto Uzumaki right?"

"Yep."

"You went to a mission some time ago…"

"I know what you're talking about" he said cutting of the interrogator "and yes, I've met your brother."

"And how he's doing?"

"He's a trusted friend of the clan head that controls the town. He seemed well liked by the other members of the clan."

"Naruto, I'm going ask you something particular. Idate told him how he left Konoha?" as he got a nod from Naruto he proceeded to explain. "I've been gathering evidence that would clear Idate's charge of treason against the village, Inoichi was able to gather some good info by reading Aoi's brain, however the more supporters to my case I get, the higher will be the chance of the council to accept my request to pardon Idate."

"So you want me to support your case?"

"Yes."

"Don't worry, I will, Idate's did nothing wrong and I like to see justice being made." Naruto explained

Ibiki then gave Naruto a rare smile

"Thank you, Naruto Uzumaki."

"Now I have important matters to attend to." Naruto justified before using the Shunshin to teleport to the Forest of Death, leaving Ibiki alone mumbling about people showing off with the Shunshin.

* * *

Team 10 knelt to the ground in a clearing in the Forest of Death, as Naruto revised the strategy.

"So, before we begin, let's do run over of our plans, ok?" he asked getting nods from Shino and Hinata.

"Our objective here is to quickly snatch an Earth Scroll as we were given a Heaven Scroll and then make our way to the Center Tower. We don't want to spend much time here as we will suffer from the forest attrition and risk being target of ambushes."

"First part of the strategy is to lure traps around our initial area, considering we have Hinata's Byakugan, Shino's kikaichū and I've studied the maps of the forest we should have no problem in defeating more than one team, in fact we will attempt to accumulate various scrolls, as we would be both securing an bargaining chip and reducing the number of competitors in the next round."

"After one day, or four amassed scrolls we begin the second and final part of the plan. We must stealthy reach the tower avoiding traps and ambushes. Hinata, your Byakugan will be very important in this part, so I need you fully rested. Should you need a break me and Shino will work together to cover the lack of Byakugan. Should we engage an enemy team at this stage we will quickly estimate their skill, and react accordingly, defeating them if they were weaker or using my Kage Bunshin to escape them."

"Understood?"

"Hai." The rest of the team responded

"Before we begin our task here I'd like to pint a few things. One, death will be part of this exam, I don't want to kill anybody, neither for you to kill anybody, but this is possible and if this happens you must keep your focus. I killed, more than once, and it's horrible, but I'd rather kill thousands of enemies before I let them get to my companions."

"Two, if we somehow find people from other teams needing assistance with any matters, should it be medical assistance, wild animals or even extreme cases as assassination attempts or rape, we are allowed to help. Although I suggest you to always tread carefully as it could very well be a trap from the enemy."

"Finally, after Kiba announced publicly that I have a bounty on my head, so we will probably have some teams, especially from Ame, trailing after me, during the early stage we will use this as advantage and lure them into traps. Should it happen after we completed the first part of the strategy we will use the standard approach we agreed on.

" _I also have to keep an eye on Hinata, Kumo tried to kidnap her once, they can try something again"_

"I also took the liberty of ordering some camouflage for us, dark green because it would allow is to blend in the forest both during daytime and nighttime." He said revealing a sealing scroll. The scroll revealed outfits similar to the outfits that Team 10 usually wore, the only difference was that they were a dark green color.

As everybody changed clothes, Team 10 was ready.

"That being said, let's get this show on the road." Naruto said.

* * *

Team 10 didn't had time to even lay a single trap as a team from Ame confronted them.

" _Beige stitched clothes, white sashes around the eyes, rebreather…"_

"Hey, are those the guys from Land of Tea?" Naruto asked turning to Shino

"Yes…"

"Naruto Uzumaki…" Oboro said "… I'm going to kill you and avenge my sensei."

"Your sensei was a traitor." Naruto said ignoring the glares Team Oboro sent towards him and turning to his teammates. "How did you defeat them last time?"

"They used a Bunshin to hide themselves, but Hinata saw through the jutsu with her Byakugan and knocked them out."

Team Oboro, tired of being ignored, used the _Oboro Bunshin no Jutsu_ (Haze Clone Technique) to replicate their numbers.

"Those aren't real bodies, the reals aren't amongst them." Hinata said.

" _They fled?"_ Naruto thought

However his instincts kicked in as he saw a head emerging from the ground, trying to sneak on Hinata. Naruto swiftly attacked the emerging opponent, forcing him underground.

" _They are hiding underground with a Doton jutsu. In this case…"_

"Shino, can you levitate yourself and Hinata with you kikaichū?" Shino nodded before using his kikaichū to create a cloud of sorts, levitating the duo.

Naruto performed the required handseals:

" _Raiton: Sandāboruto_ (Lightning Release: Thunderbolt)." but instead of extending his arms sidewards he directed them to the ground, unleashing a powerful jolt of electricity at Team Oboro and causing a big explosion.

As the explosion cleared Team 10 glanced at the three holes created by the attack, each containing a body of the team Oboro.

"They are just knocked out." Naruto said to Shino and Hinata "for a long time." He added

"Let's check their possessions."

After searching for a few minutes, Naruto found a Earth scroll.

"We did it." He said holding the scroll upwards.

"Great." Hinata said enthusiastically. "We move on now?"

"I think we should wait." Shino said

"I agree with Shino."

"We certainly drew attention for us with this explosion, but we weren't harmed, so let's lay some traps, wait for some hours before departing again. The enemy will probably rush thinking about attacking us before we have a chance to recover, let's use this to our benefit."

* * *

Team 10 then laid several traps with Hinata identifying the best spots, Shino using kikaichū as composition of the traps and Naruto using his Kage Bunshin as workforce.

"We're done, let's wait for about four hours." Naruto explained. "Hinata-chan there's no need to use the Byakugan now, I can use my sensory skills. Rest because we're going to need your Byakugan for the next phase of the plan."

* * *

Four hours later, they managed to get two other heaven scrolls from the teams that were caught in their traps. As they headed to the tower, Shino noticed Naruto's worried expression.

"Naruto is there anything wrong?" he asked concerned.

"No… I don't know… what I'm meaning is that things are too calm here, this Forest is known for being home to gigantic animals, don't you think it's strange that we're that quiet, especially since it isn't nightfall yet?"

"Now that you mention it…"

"Hinata-chan, can you see anything strange with you Byakugan?"

"N-no, but things are way to quiet." She said stuttering a bit as Naruto used the 'chan' after her name.

"Maybe I'm just over worrying…" Naruto began only to be cut by a strong wind and killing intent.

"Me and my big mouth…"

"That's about 2 or 3 kilometers from here. I'll send a Shadow clone." He said crossing his fingers in the cross gesture.

"Go, find out what happened and dispel." He instructed his clone, who nodded before taking off.

Five minutes later the memories from the clone came back to Naruto.

"Shit…Sakura…" he then turned to his team "Guys, Sakura and Team 7 are in trouble, I must go help them."

"O-okay, but we are going with you." Hinata said

"No, not yet, give me thirty minutes before you go after me." Naruto said

The reason he said that is that if his prediction was correct he will be facing Orochimaru once again, and he didn't wanted his teammates to get caught in the crossfire.

"Thirty minutes." Shino said, stoically but deep down inside with he was concerned about Naruto.

* * *

During the three minutes travel from where Team 10 was to where his clone dispelled. Naruto tried to revise his strategy, but his mind kept drifting towards the image of a helpless Sakura struggling to fight several snakes. Naruto once had a crush turned into love for her, but it was in the past. Or it wasn't? He liked Ino now, didn't he? They even went on a date together. Could it be that the feelings he had for Sakura four years ago didn't faded yet? As he reached his destination he realized that he would have to ponder on that later as right now Sakura was being relentlessly attacked by a snake slight longer than him, Naruto would estimate the Snake being at 5'3" (160 centimeters) as he was about 5'1" (155 centimeters), Sakura was shorter than him, standing at maybe 4'9" (149 centimeters).

Fighting a snake wasn't hard for Naruto, he would probably kill her in one hit throwing a wind nature chakra infused knife straight to it skull. Sakura however had no other choice than just keep running and eventually throwing shuriken and kunai. Naruto shook his head, such potential being thrown away.

He did as he thought, killing the snake with a chakra metal kunai strike. Sakura whooped her head expecting to see her savior in the form of a raven haired Uchiha, but instead came face to face to an equally handsome blond haired Uzumaki.

"N-Naruto? What are you doing here?"

"I see you're having some problems with snakes, I decided to help he said from atop a tree."

"But why?"

"Because we're all from Leaf, we should stick together." Causing Sakura to smile

Suddenly the Haruno dashed out of her stupor. "Kiba and Sasuke-kun, I need to help them."

"I'm coming with you."

* * *

As they reached the clearing where Sakura's remaining team members were fighting the enemy, Naruto glanced around. Kiba was lying, passed out in the ground, with Akamaru doing his best to protect him. He started to wonder where Sasuke was only to be interrupted by a loud scream of pain. He glanced around to see a creepy scene, a woman, or man, he couldn't distinguish, with a half melted skin, revealing another face extending his neck and biting Sasuke's neck, who screamed loudly.

"SASUKE-KUN." Sakura screamed running towards the Uchiha.

Naruto shook his head at the girl's antics, instead focusing on the androgynous figure.

"Are you Orochimaru?" he asked

"Kukuku…. Naruto-kun, it seems our paths keep crossing." Orochimaru said with his usually creepy voice

" _Is he going to try rape me?"_

"I wish to see how much you progressed, but I have other plans."

"I'm afraid I can't let you leave, no alive anyways."

Orochimaru said nothing, instead literally taking a sword from his mouth and bursting towards Sasuke?

" _Shit, he's going for Sakura."_

Naruto's body moved on his own as he dashed faster than he had his entire life, grabbing a reactionless Sakura in a bridal carry, and ducking the strike from the sword, although not totally as he felt a superficial cut in his left side of the face, going from his temple side to his cheeks, missing his ear and eyes but cutting two of his three whisker marks.

Naruto couldn't even think about his injury now, as a giant 10 feet serpent attacked him in airborne, swallowing him and Sakura entirely.

* * *

Naruto was analyzing the situation he was in as he heard Sakura's whimpers turning into full sobs. As he had enough, he turned to the Haruno.

"SHUT THE FUCK UP!"

As he saw Sakura get even more scared than before, he immediately regretted his choice of words.

"I'm sorry Sakura-san, but I'm trying to think here…"

"Why?" she asked with tears in her eyes "We're inside the stomach of a giant snake, we will melt down here."

"Sakura, we're getting out of this. Trust me."

"Why should I?"

"Because I never go back on my word."

Naruto's words had an unexpected soothing effect on Sakura, who still sobbed a little but was a lot quieter than before.

Five minutes Naruto got out of his sitting position. Sakura didn't paid much attention to the scene as she was on her own world, thinking about her life and how it turned out like this. However when Naruto took off his jacket, standing shirtless he caught the Haruno's attention. Sakura blushed madly seeing Naruto's ripped physique.

" _ **CHA! AT LEAST I GET TO SEE SOMETHING GOOD BEFORE I DIE."**_ Inner Sakura said proudly.

" _Yes, he's totally packed, I can see the outline of his six pack… wait why I'm talking with you?"_ Sakura asked her inner self

" _ **Don't know, probably near death experience made you more open to my suggestions."**_

" _Okay… if I get out alive… this conversation never happened."_

" _ **Embrace your dark side."**_

Sakura was brought out of her stupor as Naruto handed her his jacket. Seeing the kunoichi's puzzled expression, Naruto explained.

"You'll thank me later, also I suggest you to put on the hoodie."

As Sakura did as instructed, Naruto held his fingers in a cross gesture.

" _Tajū Kage Bunshin no Jutsu_ (Multiple Shadow Clone Technique)." He said creating hundreds of clones.

The clones then put their hand in the outline of what Naruto's supposed to be the snake's stomach and started to channel Fūton chakra in their palms. As the snake's insides started trembling Naruto saw that Sakura was losing her balance and hugged her to prevent her from falling. However the kunoichi made no movement to break the hug, he adjusted his grip on her, using his right hand to secure her back and his left hand to hold her head. Sakura just nuzzled her forehead to Naruto's shoulders and used her two hands to hug his back.

As the Fūton chakra caused the snake to blow up from inside, dispelling the clones that served as a meat shield of sorts, Sakura, still firmly in Naruto's embrace, understood why Naruto said that she would be thanking him later. The explosion caused a rain of blood and gore, and Naruto knew she probably be grossed out by it.

" _He's always so thoughtful of others."_

" _ **MARRY HIM RIGHT NOW!"**_ Inner Sakura said enthusiastically

" _No I like Sasuke-kun. I don't like Naruto…right?"_

* * *

 **Author's notes:**

I know I promised to write about Naruto meeting with Karin, but I opted for splitting the second stage in two, so I could focus on NaruSaku here. That being said I'd like to ask your opinions about the chapter's length. I'm usually posting short chapters to reduce the time between each chapter, but if the majority of you prefers, I can opt for longer, but less constant, updates. I write this fanfic on spot, so what I publish is what I have right now, I know this isn't the most recommended model but it's the one I know to work with. Also, should Naruto keep the scar? Now for Q&A.

* * *

 **Q:** Will the Sound Four come for Sasuke inside Konoha? Won't they get caught by barriers or sensors?

 **A:** I think I'm going to stick with canon in this one. I believe that former Konoha shinobi, like Itachi and Orochimaru could infiltrate the village. The Sound Four knew barrier jutsu and Orochimaru probably taught them how to avoid sensors and get past the barrier.

 **Q:** Will Naruto get Uzumaki's Clan bloodline

 **A:** Yes, after the exams.

 **Q:** Since Naruto is going to be hostile towards Jiraiya; just how long will it take for the hostility to end and Naruto to start treating Jiraiya like he does in Canon with love and respect?

 **A:** Some time, Naruto being hostile with Jiraiya won't stop him from training under him, I'd say a lot more as it's one of my favorites subjects but I'm afraid I can't as it would give some plot details that I can't disclose yet.

 **Q:** Do you have a plan for Ibiki meeting his brother soon?

 **A:** As Ibiki said in this chapter he plans to bring Idate back, so it'll happen although it won't get that much of attention, as I'll be focusing more on Naruto developing his relationship with the girls.

 **Q:** Neji will he be a stick in the mud like cannon?

 **A:** Maybe I can put him on a scene next chapter as Team 10 originally meets Neji there. But until he fights with Naruto yes, his change will be different from canon however.

 **Q:** Why you never make Naruto interact more with his team? The other people get more screen time than even his own.

 **A:** I've read the last few chapters and I realized that I could probably have added some more Team bonding moments. It happens, but usually off-screen, so in the future I'll try to bring those moments to the paper (or keyboard in my case).

 **Q:** What about your opinion on Female Haku joining Naruto's Harem ?

 **A:** It's a possibility, I plan on having the interlude happening in Kiri, so it would fit well. But I'm still considering the options.

 **Q:** Samui?

 **A:** Yep, probably not my brightest idea. I had no idea she was 29. So I think she's off limits as I don't like pairing Naruto with older women. I fear I've probably got mesmerized by her "assets".

 **Q:** Tenten is a possibility?

 **A:** Yes, but a small one. I might have a plan that requires her to be single.

 **Q:** Is spawning a lot of Ninjutsu a prerequisite to become a decent shinobi?

 **A:** No if you just throw them at your opponent without thinking. Naruto benefits from the sheer number of ninjutsu because he needs flexibility. I've read a lot of fics: Mokuton Naruto, Sharingan Naruto, Rinnegan Naruto, Hiraishin Naruto… I wanted to make mine a bit different. Naruto's sensei is Asuma, but I plan on having him taking a lot of Kakashi's style of combat before he creates his own.

 **Q:** Naruto's thoughts on Minato.

 **A:** He respects Minato as a shinobi, but he holds a grudge for the Kyubi. When he learns about his paternity, thing will worsen from here. However time will make Naruto understand Minato and his actions.

 **Q:** Naruto and his teammates.

 **A:** A lot of reviewers commented about Naruto's lack of interaction and team fight scenes with Team 10. I've said above that, under a possible measure, Naruto bonds with his teammates, but it's something that I reckon that I need to work harder on. About the fights there are two reasons:

I'll be honest in the first one. I lack the writing skills to properly write about Shino and Hinata fighting with Naruto, I'm actually dreading the time I'll have to write about their fights in the third stage. Shino's fight will probably be my most innovative work and I don't think I'll manage to write it as good as I hoped to.

Second reason is Naruto's different personality. He's a soloist, he prefers to focus on himself and his opponent instead of having to worry with his teammates. Being a soloist doesn't means he's egoistical or individualist, it's just that he works better alone, and he knows that. I'd compare him to pre Obito's death Kakashi. In all his successful fights he went solo: Mizuki, the bandits, Aoi, however that changed when he was beaten by Kimimaro after refusing Inoichi's offer to help him. That being said, Naruto himself admits that his leadership is lacking and he starts to use his teammates more in his strategy.

The scene when he chooses to head to find Sakura was my favorite, his strong moral compass and underlying affections for Sakura couldn't let his leave her to die, however he couldn't involve his team in a fight that they were meant to lose so he asked to go alone.

 **Q:** Hydras as summons.

 **A:** A brilliant idea and one that I'll consider deeply. I'm still giving Naruto the toad contract but I might give him the Hydras too. As I said earlier, I envision the interlude taking place at Kiri, so they would fit greatly too.

 **Q:** Use of element reactions into fights in the future?

 **A:** It is something I planned using earlier, but it will be used, considering Naruto will be able to use four elements by the end of the exams you can expect to see a lot of this in the future.

* * *

 **Gift:**

This story as I finish this chapter has 55,684 words in 11 chapters, 33,599 views, 456 followers, 328 favorites and 127 reviews. When I started writing this a month ago I never expected to have that level of success. Besides, comparing the prologue to this chapter I could see my improvement as a writer, so I'm extremely pleased and grateful with your support.

Yesterday I was making the plans for the third stage and I managed to develop the fight fixtures. As a thank you gift I present some of the fights and a challenge. If someone can guess correctly who's Naruto going to face before the fight in 2 to 4 chapters, I'm going to release the other part of the fights, so let the games begin:

* * *

Sasuke x Yoroi

Misumi x Kankurō

Tenten x Temari

Shikamaru x Chōji

Rock Lee x Dosu

* * *

Good Luck.


	13. Chunin Exams - Forest II

Disclaimer: I don't own Naruto.

* * *

As the smoke cleared, Naruto, who still hugged Sakura in a comfortingly manner, glanced around, half expecting an attack. As nothing came he disentangled his arms from the petite figure of Sakura, as he did his eyes met and stopped looking at each other. Naruto was mesmerized by the beautiful face the girl had, the shape, the skin, her lips, but most of all her jade green eyes. Sakura was thinking on the same lines, the scene had everything to be displeasing, Naruto's hair was died in blood and the once side swept bangs now covered his right eye and dripped blood on Naruto's shirtless body, his entire body was covered in blood, not his blood but blood nonetheless, the smell was far from pleasant, a mixture of roasted meat, acid, decomposition and… blood. Still, the Haruno never felt her heart flutter like that, not even in her most pleasant dreams about marrying Sasuke.

Neither of the teens knew how much time passed by, could've been seconds, could've been hours, but for only this moment the world stopped and there was only Naruto Uzumaki and Sakura Haruno. As all the good and sweet things about life were bound to end, they broke eye contact blushing madly.

"I think we should look for your teammates."

"Yes."

"Hmm…Sakura?"

"Yes?"

"Do you mind giving me my jacket back now?"

" _ **You really don't have to. I don't mind seeing you shirtless."**_ Inner Sakura objected with a perverted grin.

The pink haired girl hesitated for a minute as if the meaning of Naruto's words were lost, before once again breaking eye contact and handling him the jacket back.

Naruto glanced around, realizing that they weren't in the area where they fought Orochimaru.

" _The snake probably moved around while we were inside its stomach."_

"Naruto, in which direction do you think we should go?"

"Give me a minute to focus. I'll try to find their chakra signatures."

After a minute of deep concentration, the blond was able to feel something.

"I think I've picked something, it's faint but I think it's Kiba's. About a kilometer northwest from here."

"Let's go."

Just four hundred meters before the targeted destination, Naruto turned to Sakura.

"Hey, Sakura, do you mind if we make a quick detour?"

"Why?"

"Well, I'm hearing some water flow, I believe it's a river, I wanted to clean up, actually I think you probably would want to do the same, the smell of blood can make us detectable." The jinchūriki explained

"No, I don't think it's necessary." Sakura said dismissively, looking a bit down.

"Sakura-san, I don't know a lot about women, hell, to be precise I don't know anything about women. But when a girl is covered by blood and stench and somebody says there's a place where she can clean herself the girl would probably sprint to the place as soon as possible. So spill out why you don't want to go?"

"I don't have spare clothes." She half muttered, half mumbled. Naruto could only hear because of his natural hearing ability, the Kyubi's influence and the chakra he was flowing through his ears.

"Well, we can go to where you left your things and go back…"

"No… I didn't bring any spare clothes."

"Why is that?" Naruto asked as he raised an eyebrow.

"It occupied a lot of space in the backpack."

"And why didn't you use sealing scrolls."

"I don't know how…" she said half mumbling half whispering again, feeling disappointed in her lack of skills and how Naruto's opinion of her would change.

Seeing the girl was even sadder than before, Naruto quickly came with a solution to the problem. "Don't worry, I always carry spare clothes, I can lend you something." He said causing the girl's eyes to brighten, the next thing he knew he was being tackle hugged by Sakura.

"Thank you so much, Naruto-kun." The girl exclaimed before realizing her outburst.

" _Please don't tell me I tackle hugged Naruto like that…"_

" _ **YES YOU DID, GO SAKURA!"**_ her inner self exclaimed happily.

" _Naruto-kun, huh? Well, two can play this game."_

"No problems, Sakura-chan." Naruto said with a grin, causing the girl to blush.

* * *

"Shino-kun, it's been past 30 minutes already." Hinata said warily

"Yes, I noticed it."

"And you're not worried about Naruto-kun?" she asked a bit disappointed

"I know he's fine."

"How can you know that he might have been ambushed, captured…" Hinata said, worrying even more

"There was no fight."

"How can you be so sure?"

"Hinata-san, you know Naruto-san, and his combat style. If there was a fight we would have known. He probably would have blown half of this forest up fighting."

"I can't argue with that."

"Also, if he somehow died or was in the verge of dying, he probably would blow himself up." Shino said in a very bad attempt to make a joke, Hinata was outraged, but knew that Shino did his best.

"Please Shino-kun, who would be stupid enough to explode himself." Hinata said in an equally lame attempt of lightening the atmosphere.

* * *

Somewhere, in a undisclosed localization a terrorist bomber sneezed.

* * *

Naruto was in fact right, clear blue water flowed freely in the river, surrounded by vegetation and gave the two genin a much needed sense of relaxation after the duo almost got digested by a giant serpent.

"You want to go first?" Naruto asked

"Promise you won't peek?" Sakura asked, whilst Inner Sakura was vividly suggesting a joint bath.

"I promise, I'll make some Shadow clones to guard the perimeter, when you're done tell me."

After the longest 20 minutes of his, life as he not only had to guard the perimeter but not to give in to the temptation of peeking at Sakura, Naruto heard the before mentioned girl's voice.

"I'm done."

Without turning, Naruto answered. "I left my clothing scroll on the ground, feel free to pick anything you like. I won't turn, so don't worry." He said.

After a few minutes, he heard Sakura again.

"I'm done."

He turned to see Sakura wearing one of his trademark black jackets alongside black ANBU paints, with white bandages on the calves and on the waist, acting as a belt of sorts. Underneath the jacket she wore one plain white shirt.

Naruto put a hand on his chin pensively, before opening a huge foxy grin and giving her thumbs up.

"You… look amazing." He said causing the girl to blush

"But of course that was to be expected because you're wearing MY clothes." He said, making Sakura's blush to disappear.

"Baka…" she muttered, lowing her head in disappointment.

Sensing that his joke was misunderstood, the boy quickly made amends.

"Just kidding, Sakura-chan you truly look amazing." He said, causing the girl's eyes to lit up. "In fact you can keep the clothes if you want to, although if I were you I'd look for kunoichi apparel later."

"Thanks Naruto-kun, but there's no need to…"

Sakura's response was interrupted by her inner self's thoughts. _**"SHUT UP YOU BAKA. THIS IS A GOLD MINE. WE CAN PROBABLY SMELL OUR NARUTO-KUN IN THESE CLOTHES FOR MONTHS."**_

" _Shut up Inner, Naruto-kun is only a friend, I like Sasuke-kun."_

" _ **Oh give me a break, Sasuke is cool and mysterious, Naruto is all of the former and still caring, has abs, is more accessible and… abs, Sakura, abs."**_

" _I can't believe I'm losing my time talking with you."_

" _ **You can't hide from the truth."**_

Naruto, unaware of Inner Sakura's banter with the regular Sakura, just shrugged.

"Anyway, I'm going to clean up, get ready to leave in five minutes." He said, entering the river with his clothes still on, surprising the kunoichi.

"Naruto, what are you doing? If you walk in wet clothes you will catch a cold." she said in an scolding tone.

"It's no problem for me, I can spread Katon chakra through my body, so my body and clothes will dry up in a minute." He explained

" _Besides I also have the evilest_ _bijū in the world sealed into my belly and giving me its chakra, so I doubt a cold would cause any damage, but that's not the point."_

"That's awesome." Sakura said impressed.

" _ **This guy is walking, giant sized teddy bear just waiting to cuddle us. How can you say no to that?"**_ Inner Sakura said in Sakura's mindscape with a perverted grin, causing Sakura to blush.

"I thought you'd feel more comfortable if I didn't have to get naked."

" _Always putting the other's needs before his own…"_

" _ **AWW! NO FAIR! I WANTED TO SEE THE ABS."**_ Inner said, pouting.

After five minutes Naruto left the water and dried up almost instantly. Sakura glanced at him before gasping.

"Naruto-kun! Your face is hurt."

"Really?" he said squatting to see his reflection at the river's water.

In fact a not deep but somewhat large scar spread through his left check.

" _Usually the Kyubi's chakra would have healed that already. But this was a hit of the famed Kusanagi after all. Probably it had a strong poison that slowed down the chakra healing. It's not fatal, at least not for me, but I need to be more careful, if this was a neurotoxin or a strong paralyzing agent I would have been in trouble. For now I think this is going to take some extra time to heal, won't leave a scar though."_

"Do you have any sealed medical supplies?"

"I do, but it's not important…" Naruto said dismissively

"It is important." Sakura insisted

"Please Sakura, it's better if we left now…" Naruto once again tried to argument, only to be interrupted by a very angry Sakura.

"Sit down, **now**." She said giving him a glare and with a menacing tone.

Naruto wasn't weak, heck he was a chunin in all but rank, the Sandaime himself offered to promote him last month. Naruto, in fact, believed he was about high-Chunin to low-Jonin level, he was still no match for elite jonins like Kakashi and Asuma, but he was strong, and without a shade of doubt the strongest genin in this year's class by a large margin. But he knew, despite of all his prowess and achievements, that nothing good should ever come by arguing with a angered kunoichi, so he dutifully handed Sakura the first-aid kit and sat down.

Sakura dutifully worked on cleaning the wound before carefully applying a curative at the wounded area. Naruto was inexplicably happy that Sakura took care of him, probably because his entire life was about being alone, he never had anyone to help him when he was hurt, and Sakura was the first.

"Thanks." Naruto said, looking Sakura straight in the eye.

Cerulean blue met jade green and time stopped once again. Naruto was once again taken aback by the beauty of his former crush. Former? He wasn't that sure about it anymore. But he thought about other things, his teammates that probably were worried, the rest of Team 7, Ino… So before he gave himself to the temptation once again he got up.

"Let's go find your team."

"Okay…" Sakura said in a slight disappointed tone.

* * *

After a few more minutes of walk, the duo finally reached the location they first fought Orochimaru. The first thing they saw was a knocked out Kiba Inuzuka, being dutifully protected by Akamaru.

Naruto kneeled to feel Kiba's vitals, and saw Akamaru's concerned expression.

"Don't worry boy, he's just passed out, I bet he'll wake up after some rest. Good job standing guard." Naruto said patting the dog in the head, and receiving a lick to his hand in retribution.

The jinchūriki then glanced around and saw Sakura kneeling to the ground, tending to a passed out Sasuke.

"How is he?"

"He looks pained."

In fact Sasuke groaned painfully, Naruto knelt beside Sakura and noticed a black marking on the Uchiha's neck.

"Hey, did he had that already?" he said pointing to the mark in injured genin's neck.

Sakura gasped, seeing the mark. "No, what is this."

Naruto said nothing but was already making some connections in his mind.

" _Is that somehow related to the mark Kimimaro used when we fought? If it is we're in serious trouble."_

"I don't know what this is. But it looks bad, let's hurry to the tower."

"I need to talk with my team first, if we go now we will be disqualified."

"First of all, no promotion is more important than the life of a fellow comrade, if you still don't know this you aren't ready to be a chunin." Naruto said in a scolding tone. "Second: your teammates are knocked out, sometimes during mission you'll have to make an important decision without relying on them."

Naruto hated to see Sakura's sad expression but deep down inside everything he did was for a more important goal. Sakura had enormous potential but she threw away everything to chase Sasuke. If he didn't showed up, the girl would have died. And Naruto couldn't even imagine how bad he would feel if this happened. He wanted Sakura to wake about the dangers of the life of a kunoichi, so he had to go with the 'tough love' approach. He of course didn't plan on making Team 7 forfeit the exams. He had spare scrolls and planned on giving it to them. But his point about making Sakura getting serious was important too.

"You're right, let's go."

"I'll tell my teammates." He said before creating a shadow clone and sending him to find his teammates.

* * *

Meanwhile, Team 8 watched in utter terror the Suna nin Gaara use his _Sabaku Sōsō_ (Sand Waterfall Funeral) to kill a team of Ame genin, despite their pleas of mercy, making a terrifying rain of blood. As they were about to depart, they a totally emotionless Gaara mutter something that caught their team attention, especially a certain blonde haired Yamanaka heiress.

"Their blood is weak…I'm sorry mother…but I will apologize to you by feeding you quality blood…soon…when I kill Naruto Uzumaki."

To say Ino was outraged was an understatement, she wanted to jump towards Gaara and maul him to the death. And she probably would have attempted that if weren't for Shikamaru preventing her from moving with his _Kagemane no Jutsu_ (Shadow Possession Technique) and Chouji muffling her yells.

Shikamaru already noticed Ino's behavior towards the Uzumaki and wasn't surprised by her outburst.

" _Naruto is a magnet for troublesome things."_ He thought as the Suna team left the scene

After Gaara left, Ino seemed to calm down.

"Shikamaru, Chōji, we're going after Naruto-kun, now." She said in a firm tone

"Ino, we don't even know where Naruto is…"

"Then we will find him, damnit." She yelled

"We need to follow Shikamaru's strategy…" Chōji said, trying to make a point, a bad choice.

"Fuck this strategy. Naruto-kun is in danger." Ino spat in a very rude manner, unfitting of an heiress

"Naruto is strong, he can…" Shikamaru tried once again to be cut by Ino

"We are going, **now.** "

Shikamaru found himself in the same position Naruto was earlier, and his decision, for the sake of his physical and mental wellbeing was also the same.

"Troublesome blonds." He muttered, getting an approval nod from Chōji, before getting up, set to finding Naruto.

* * *

Naruto stood atop a tree, surveying the area surrounding the camp set by him and Sakura to tend to the still passed out Kiba and Sasuke. The pinkette was on ground level, tending to her teammates injuries. Kiba was just exhausted and besides the symptoms of chakra depletion and a few bruises he was fine. Sasuke however was really knocked out and constantly groaned in pain.

Naruto knew they would have to find medical assistance for him soon, that meant that tomorrow soon they would be departing early and make a straight beeline for the tower. Naruto thought that the only teams that could cause trouble for them should they met midway would be Team 9, with weapon mistress Tenten, taijutsu specialist Rock Lee and Neji Hyūga, the prodigy of the Hyūga clan. Neji was probably the one that could cause more trouble as Rock Lee and Tenten would gladly let them pass as they had the Konoha comradeship spirit. Neji, however, could be targeting Hinata.

During the time they spent together on missions, Naruto learnt from Hinata a little about Neji's hate of the Main Branch family and the Caged Bird Seal. So it made sense for him to target the heiress.

He was brought out of his musings as he heard some footsteps approaching. Activating his sensorial abilities he let out a sigh of relief as he realized that the signature belonged to his teammates.

He jumped out of the tree, joining Sakura on ground level as Shino and Hinata joined them.

"Hey guys."

"Hey." The remaining Team 10 members greeted both Naruto and Sakura.

"Okay, I believe my clone didn't told you much, so I'm recapping what happened after I left to find Sakura."

"We fought a guy from Kusa who used snakes, an awful lot of snakes." Naruto didn't mentioned to any of them that the man was Orochimaru, as he didn't needed anyone panicking and he wanted to speak about this matter directly with the Hokage.

"Then one of his snakes swallowed us alive and I had to burst the damn thing open to get out."

Sakura was hoping to see Naruto's teammates to look creeped out, or overly concerned, but they just raised their eyebrows a little.

" _Is this a common occurrence for them?"_

"Finally we found the rest of Sakura's teammates, Kiba is just tired and I believe he'll wake up sometime tomorrow. Sasuke however is badly hurt, I'd guess he's under the effect of some poison." Naruto said lying again as he didn't wanted to talk about his doubts of the mark on the Uchiha's neck.

"I fear there might be some permanent damage if we didn't rush to the tower to find help for him. So I'm asking you just once, do you want to help Sakura?"

"Yes, we cannot leave a Konoha team alone like this." Hinata said, getting a nod of approval of Shino.

"I agree with Hinata. Naruto what's the strategy?"

"We will rest for the remaining of the day, takin _g_ turns to watch. Tomorrow, at break of dawn we will set out straight to the middle tower. Hopefully Kiba would have already wakened up and Hinata's Byakugan can prevent us from meeting any hostile teams. If things occur how I hope we might be able to reach the tower at afternoon."

"An excellent plan." A unknown voice said.

Naruto quickly grabbed a kunai and stood in front of his comrades in a protective manner.

Then three figures left the shadows to appear in front of Teams 7 and 10. Naruto glanced at the invaders: a girl and two boys. The girl has long black hair and black eyes. One of the guys has spiky black hair; The final member, that also seemed like the leader of the group, has his entire face covered by bandages, only revealing his left eye. The team had the Otogakure Hitai-ate and every member had a piece of clothing with snake skin patterns.

"It's a shame you won't be able to complete it." The bandaged man said.

Naruto exchanged glances with Shino and Hinata, as if they were having a silent conversation, before looking to Sakura and her injured teammates.

" _A fight right now can hinder our plans."_

He then took a Earth and a Heaven Scroll from the kunai holster in his right leg.

"Take it, we don't want to fight."

The Oto team started to laugh loudly, with their second male member turning to Naruto.

"Don't worry, we will, after we kill Sasuke Uchiha and have fun with your female teammates." He said, causing Hinata and principally Sakura to flinch.

Naruto barely contained his anger, but he knew he would need a clear head to fight the enemy, but boy, he would make them pay for even thinking on that.

"Shino, Hinata ready?"

Getting nods from his teammates, he turned to Shino.

"Shino, let's go."

Shino then raised a cloud of his kikaichū in front of Naruto, who then made the handseals for the _Fūton: Daitoppa_ (Wind Release: Great Breakthrough).

The gust of wind propelled the kikaichū in front of Naruto towards the Sound Trio with great speed.

" _Renkei Ninjutsu: Mushi Ibuki_ (Cooperation Technique: Insect Spitfire)"

Seeing the attack coming at his team, the leader turned to his team.

"Kin, Zaku, Scatter!"

The team managed to dodge the attack, with the bandaged man and his other teammate going to the right and the sole female going to the left, getting facing Hinata.

"Hinata, try to keep this fight at close quarters, if she's a long range fighter stand back and ask for our help." Naruto said, before turning to Sakura.

"Sakura-chan, protect Kiba and Sasuke."

As the pinkette nodded and Hinata entered her Jūken stance Naruto turned to Shino.

"One more? He asked getting an agreeing nod from Shino. "Let's target the leader."

Shino then produced a dense sphere composed of paralyzing kikaichū that hovered at Naruto's head level.

Naruto once again used the _Fūton: Daitoppa_ (Wind Release: Great Breakthrough), however adding very little speed at the sphere.

Seeing a chance to jump at the offensive, Zaku raced towards Naruto, getting into his guard in few seconds. Aiming his palms at Naruto's chest he unleashed a powerful supersonic stream through the tubes in the palm of his hand.

" _Zankūha_ (Decapitating Airwaves) _"_

Naruto however grinned, before disappearing in a burst of smoke.

" _A Kage Bunshin? Where's the real?"_

Zaku's question was answered as he saw the original Naruto coming out of the sphere of insects, widening the Oto nin's eyes.

" _He used the Henge no Jutsu to transform in one of the insects."_

The blond just grinned, before making the Snake, Ram, Boar, Horse and Bird Handseals performing the _Fūton: Reppūshō_ (Wind Release: Gale Palm) and hitting the sphere with an open palmed strike. The once slow sphere gained a lot of speed, and headed straight to the bandaged man, who had his only visible eye widely open. The enemy leader managed to avoid being hit dead center, instead being hit on his legs.

Unfortunately for him, evading a fatal hit wasn't enough, as he felt his legs fail, falling head down on the floor.

"Allow me to explain." Shino said in his monotone "Our _Renkei Ninjutsu Mushi Kyū_ (Cooperation Technique: Insect Sphere) employs paralyzing venom kikaichū, the effects aren't lethal, but you will be unable to use your arms or legs for some time."

"FUCKERS!" Zaku yelled at Team 10 as his leader, Dosu went down and Kin was on her last legs.

"DIE YOU ALL! _Zankūkyokuha_ (Extreme Decapitating Airwaves)."

The _Zankūkyokuha_ basically is a more lethal version of _Zankūha_ as Zaku added both power and range to the technique. Naruto then glanced and saw that Zaku even disregarded his own teammate as the Kin stared at him with a expression that mixed anger, betrayal and disappointment.

The jinchūriki knew that he could escape the attack, but his teammates wouldn't be that fortunate.

" _Guess I will have to eat that damn thing."_

He then created 10 clones, standing in horizontal line formation, surrounding the remaining group.

"Fūton: Yae Hayate (Wind Release: Multi-Layered Gale)" the clones yelled in unison, creating a wide vacuum wall.

After a few seconds, the smoke cleared, revealing Teams 7, 10 and Zaku's teammates unharmed.

In front of them stood a lightly panting Naruto, who grinned at Zaku's incredulous expression.

"H-How? It's impossible that you held that."

"Acoustics 101: sound can't travel through vacuum. Geez, you're from the Village Hidden in the Sound, you should know that."

Naruto, now adopting a more serious posture, cracked his knuckles.

"Shino, Hinata, Sakura, I'd suggest you to look the other way."

"Because now it's time for some Royal Beatdown." He said, before grinning at the genin terrified face.

* * *

 _(There will be some sexual comments on this part, be warned )_

* * *

After a beatdown that broke several of Zaku's teeth, his right arm, several ribs and probably caused some internal bleeding, leaving the young man knocked out, Naruto was on guard duty. He glanced around at the sleeping figures of the group. Kiba was still sleeping but Naruto considered this as a normal reaction as he spent a huge amount of chakra, he still expected him to be awake when the two team leave in the dawn. Sasuke was still groaning in pain. Sakura was in a deep sleep in a makeshift tent alongside an equally asleep Hinata. Shino slept in a separate tent. The members of the Oto team that attacked them were tied in a nearby set of trees. A bloodied passed out Zaku to the right tree. A passed out Dosu in the middle tree. And a still awake Kin, tied to the leftmost one. Naruto knew how to read some sorts of signs, he noticed that after Zaku pulled his little stunt with the _Zankūkyokuha_ , Kin was acting strangely cooperative, too cooperative that they didn't even had to knock her out to tie her. She glanced at the ground and occasionally at Naruto.

He knew what she was trying to do, and he had nothing against it.

So, he unsealed a cup of instant ramen and used some water that he collected from the river earlier and boiled to heat the food. He took the cup of ramen and sat down right beside the figure of Kin. Who looked at him, surprised.

"Want some?" He asked extending the cup to the girl's face

"No." she said weakly.

"Your loss." He said, slowly using chopsticks to eat the ramen. Naruto's meal then was stopped by the sound of Kin's stomach rumbling. He inwardly grinned before taking his chopstick grabbing some ramen and putting it near Kin's mouth.

"Open, I'll feed you."

As Kin looked at him with a dubious look, he shrugged off.

"You didn't thought that I would simply free you did you?"

Kin said nothing, just opening her mouth for Naruto to feed her.

After a few minutes, Naruto turned to Kin.

"I'm not stupid you know? I know what you are trying to do."

"What I'm trying to do?"

"You are trying to seduce me." He said bluntly

Kin' mind raced, it was now or never. She thought before flashing a sly grin and talking to Naruto in a sultry tone.

"You saw through me, so what do you want to do? To taste the ramen in my mouth? To use your dick to deflower my virgin, slutty pussy? Perhaps taking my ass?"

" _Whoa, Oto girls are surely straightforward."_ Naruto thought

"Well, Kin-chan, none of the above. Don't misjudge me, you're one of the prettiest girls I've ever seen" he complimented, causing Kin to blush "but I already like someone else. Besides I don't think that you'll be accepted in Konoha just because you sleep with shinobi from here."

"You knew…" she said disheartened.

"It's not hard considering the way you acted…"

"I'm not fucking you, but I think we can reach an agreement of sorts." He said, causing Kin to look at him with attention

"The rape boy here." He said, pointing to Zaku, causing Kin to chuckle "openly stated that you were sent here to kill Sasuke Uchiha. You'll tell me who sent you, and if my assumptions are correct we can try to reach an agreement of sorts."

"O-Orochimaru." She said with fear in her voice for mentioning the man's name.

"Like I assumed."

"Kin, the only person who can grant you shelter at Konoha is the Hokage, but I'll personally speak in your behalf if you agree with some terms."

"What terms?"

"First you'll have to openly state all the crimes you committed as a Otogakure kunoichi, if any of them were against Konoha then you'll be judged accordingly."

"No problem, I did nothing against the Leaf."

"Second, you'll agree to sharing every bit of information, cooperating with the interrogators should the agreement really happens."

"No problems."

"Finally, you'll defect Otogakure right now, acting as a spy of sorts until Konoha makes a final decision about your future."

"I'm no longer a Otogakure kunoichi." She said with relief in her voice.

Naruto noticed it. _"She probably became Orochimaru's servant because it was the only way out for her."_

"Great, I'll personally speak with Hokage-sama when this stage is over, he will probably send some ANBU to check on you then."

"Naruto, thanks very much."

"No problems, but I wanted to ask for something."

"Anything."

" _Maybe he reconsidered my earlier offer? "_ Kin thought hopefully. This Naruto was the man on every girls dreams, strong, smart, and caring. He, in less than an hour, did more for her than any man in her life, so if the blond asked her to take her right now she would do it gladly.

"I once fought a guy named Kimimaro…" Naruto said causing Kin to gasp.

"So you know him." The jinchūriki stated as Kin nodded.

"Tell me all you know about him."

"Kimimaro is a living legend in Otogakure, he is the leader and strongest member of the Sound Five. His loyalty to Orochimaru is unmeasurable. He's the lone survivor of the Kaguya Clan, a once feared clan in Kiri. His kekkei genkai is the _Shikotsumyaku_ (Dead Bone Pulse) that allows him to freely control the growth and density of his bones, making this a perfect kekkei genkai for taijutsu users as it grants an impenetrable defense and an extremely dangerous attack versatility."

"When I fought him he seemed ill, not moving unless extremely necessary and even going as far as coughing blood. Is this a drawback of the ability?"

"No. I'm not sure but there's a rumor that he has fallen terminally ill recently, although I'm not sure about this."

"Well, there's just one more thing I need to ask before I go. During our fight he used a seal on his neck base to regain some power, and his power grew a lot. Do you have any idea of how he did that?"

"The cursed seal. It's a forbidden technique developed by Orochimaru, I don't know how it works though. I only know that only one of ten people survive the seal and it has two stages that exponentially grow the user's power."

"Drawbacks?"

"Apparently none, but, a friend of mine… she received the seal and became darker, it's just evil, there's no other word to describe."

"I see, it has just one particular form or it has different shapes and locations?"

"I've seen different patterns and different locations."

" _So the damned snake gave Sasuke this cursed seal shit, not good at all."_

"Okay, thanks for the talk Kin-chan" he said, causing the girl to blush "I'll honor my part on the agreement. Tomorrow I'll free you, so I'd suggest you to work extra hard if you still want to go to the next stage."

* * *

Naruto stood in guard as he saw Shino approaching.

"You know Shino, it's usually rude to overhear people's conversations." The blond said in a neutral tone.

"So you detected me." Shino stated in his monotone.

"I felt your chakra signature just before I left, good job suppressing by the way, few people can remain eavesdropping without being detected for too long, even if I wasn't openly focusing on sensing." The jinchūriki explained

"Thanks."

"So how much you listened?"

"I came in when she offered to have sex with you." He said bluntly, without showing any kind of emotion

"And what you think of it?" Naruto asked with a bit of amusement.

"I think it's a good thing I was eavesdropping instead of Hinata or Sakura-san."

Naruto winced thinking about his physical wellbeing should Sakura or Hinata got wind of the conversation. "I can't disagree with that."

"You never told us about Kimimaro…" Shino said in an accusatory tone.

Naruto chuckled drily. "If it makes you feel better there's not much to tell, I got my ass kicked in a very painful way, and to be honest I still haven't totally recovered my pride."

Seeing Shino's expressionless face he changed the topic.

"You and Hinata feel like I don't trust you right?"

As Shino nodded, Naruto sighed, this is turning out into a very long night.

"It's not that I don't trust you, it's more like I'd rather not get my team involved in personal matters. Today I already suspected I was going to face Orochimaru once again, and since it was a fight I knew I'd lose I opted in for not dragging my team to their graves alongside me."

"This is bullshit." Shino said surprising Naruto, not by his tone, monotone and stoic as ever, but by his choice of words. "Hinata was targeted by Kumo once… if she knew she would suffer a kidnaping attempt and decided to go face them alone do you think you and me would just stand quietly while she risked her life?"

"Touché."

"Naruto, we didn't choose who our teammates would be, but since the day we became a team we need to act like one, if you keep acting like you do you'll go to a unnecessary early death as you refused to share your secrets with us or we'll get killed as you always took care of things for us, hampering our growth, maybe even both." Shino said

"I'm sorry." Naruto said with his head down.

"I sometimes have ego and even trust issues, also I've realized I must have been an awful companion for you and Hinata."

"A bit." Shino said

"I have lots of secrets, some which I am even forbidden to tell you. But I promise to be a better person and teammate, in fact I'm sharing two secrets with you right now."

Shino nodded, signaling for Naruto to continue.

"I'm considering joining the ANBU."

Shino said nothing, processing the information.

"After the Chunin Exams probably, when I fought Kimimaro and Orochimaru I've came to realize how weak I am when compared to them. I want, no, I need to be better. The ANBU is where I can improve the most. Also, I'm considering my own safety." The jinchūriki concluded, causing Shino's attention to perk up.

"Shino, have you ever realized that the villagers, mainly the civilians dislike me a lot?" as Shino nodded, the blond continued. "I wish I had the guts to tell you and Hinata-chan about the reason why, but I both can't and don't want to. Anyway, I'm not normal, as the adults know, but I think some people from other villages started to notice too… They might target me: assassination or kidnapping, others might try to bribe me, but I feel like I attracted too much attention in a very short period of time, heck I even have a bounty on my head already."

"I see… I won't lie I like working with you, and our success rate is flawless when we perform as a team, but I know how it feels to be unsafe inside your own village." Shino said, causing Naruto's eyebrow to rise.

" _Shino has some problems too, but he doesn't seems like telling them for the moment."_

"So I understand why you think like this."

"Thanks, Shino."

Shino looked at Naruto and smiled.

"No problem."

"I have something to ask you." Naruto said

"I'm all ears."

"Do you have some microscopic species of kikaichū that specialize on draining chakra?"

"Yes, why?"

"Sasuke."

"The cursed seal you talked about with Kin… you think Orochimaru put a similar thing on him."

"Yes. I was hoping to try to keep him from accessing the seal power until the Hokage gets informed about the situation."

"I can use some kikaichū on his seal, it won't be noticeable, but they will drain the chakra."

"Thanks Shino."

"Once again, no problem."

"I like Ino-chan and maybe Sakura-chan." Naruto said bluntly

"Come again?"

"I said I like Ino-chan and maybe Sakura-chan. It's my second secret."

Shino said nothing for a few moments, before glancing at Naruto.

"I think Kiba's sister has a nice ass."

"What?"

"That's my secret… I think Kiba's sister has a nice ass."

"Once again, I can't disagree with that."

* * *

As the Konoha teams left to the tower, Naruto made a shadow clone to untie Kin after some time.

As Naruto left, Kin blushed.

" _Naruto Uzumaki, one day you'll be mine, mark my words."_

* * *

The group was making steady progress towards the tower. Kiba was awake, and despite feeling sore he had no injuries, and keeping his pace alongside his team. The cell of the three men, two girls, a dog and a still passed out Sasuke Uchiha leaped through the trees in a straight line formation. Kiba led the charge, flanked by the ever loyal Akamaru, Naruto came next, carrying the passed out Sasuke in his left shoulder, in the middle stood Sakura, backed by Shino, finally came Hinata, covering the rear with her Byakugan.

After two hours of constant movement, Naruto felt a sixth sense of sorts to activate. He stopped, causing his team to look at him expectantly.

"I don't know what's happening, it's like a signature is calling for help…"

"And you plan on going." Shino said bluntly

"I can't deny, it's something so… familiar… I never felt anything like this, I'll go there personally, but I will leave a clone here, if you run into some trouble it dispels, informing me."

"Then we wait." suggested Hinata

"You can't. Sasuke needs immediate attention."

"Okay, but I will go too." Sakura said

"There's no…"

"I will go."

"But Sasuke…"

"I will go." The girl concluded with a menacing tone

Naruto knew she wouldn't drop the idea so soon, so he just shrugged. "Let's go then."

" _Strong enough to kill a seasoned jonin but still unable to say no to a girl… I'm truly unbelievable."_

* * *

Karin Uzumaki was having another horrible day, her teammates vanished two days ago, taking their scroll.

" _Probably jumped headfirst into action without thinking."_ She thought

But Karin wasn't sad or concerned about them, they both were jerks that always abused of her healing ability and besides that, they always disregarded her just because of her hair and for being a girl.

What made her day horrible was the insanely huge dark brown bear that was chasing her for hours. She had no strength to run away. Out of her desperation she even used her remaining chakra to cast the _Uzumaki Hiden: Kanki_ (Uzumaki Secret Technique: Plea) a technique that would send a mental signal of urgency to her fellow clansmen, an excellent technique that was fated to end as she was the only remaining Uzumaki and was about to be eaten by a bear. She took a wrong turn, tripping into the root of a tree, losing her glasses in the process. She braced herself for the strike that never came. Instead she heard a pained roar. Opening her eyes, with her vision still blurry she saw two figures but she couldn't distinguish their age or gender. The first figure then knelt to the ground, picking something up and handling it to her.

"I believe this is yours." A male voice said, extending his hand

Karin then took the glasses that the man offered. When she put on her glasses, she found herself blushing madly. The man turned out to be a boy on her age, gold blond hair, cerulean blue eyes and three whisker marks on each side of his face, even though his face had a curative on she couldn't point anything that made him less attractive. She unconsciously felt his chakra, it was something bright, positive there was a strong dark outline too, but his essence is pure.

She was so enamored by the blond that she didn't even care to the girl standing beside him.

Naruto himself was admiring the girl's beauty. Red hair and red eyes an exotic kind of beauty.

They kept staring at each other for a few moments, until another female voice broke their trance.

"Everything okay with you?" she asked Karin

"Yes."

" _Damn, leave me alone with handsome-kun."_

"My name is Sakura Haruno, my partner here is Naruto Uzumaki."

"UZUMAKI?" Karin yelled, incredulous

"Yes…what's the problem with that?" Sakura asked, frowning

"She probably heard about my clansmen…" Naruto said, sadly

"You are from a clan?" Sakura asked, taken aback by this new information

"Yes and no… the Uzumaki was a Clan from Uzushiogakure, they were destroyed during the Third Shinobi World War… I'm probably a descendant of them… the Last Uzumaki… doesn't sounds as cool as the Last Uchiha, but that's me." Naruto said, down headed

Sakura was incredulous, she knew Naruto is an orphan, but never thought that he belonged to a Clan. When she got home she would surely check info about the Uzumaki. What Karin did next surprised her even more, the redhead tackle hugged Naruto into the ground and started to sob.

"I'm Karin…Karin Uzumaki."

* * *

The pinkette sat on the sideways, hearing the two remaining Uzumakis talk about their lives.

"I never knew my parents… I guess I'm just a half Uzumaki as I don't have red hair like you."

"I never knew my father, my mom… she died when I was seven…" Karin said sadly

"I'm sorry…"

"It's not your fault… its Kusa's fault."

"You don't like your village." That was more of a statement than a question from Naruto

"How could I, me and my mom could only stay there if my mom worked healing the villagers… they never let she rest, so she died from chakra exhaustion."

"Why don't you leave there?"

"They would never allow me to. I'm too much of an asset to let go."

"I have a plan." Naruto said grinning

"Kusa is a minor village, therefore being dependent of Konoha's alliance to continue to exist. The Hokage owes me a favor or two, I can ask him to negotiate your transfer, Kusa won't refuse because they would fear risking their alliance with us. The Sandaime is one of the best persons I know, so I assure you that you won't have to do anything that you don't want to here."

Karin's eyes lit up and she tackle hugged Naruto to the ground, again, annoying Sakura greatly. Karin didn't look at Naruto as a fellow clansman or cousin of sorts, she looked at him as a wife would look at her husband, knowing that made Sakura fume with anger.

" _This bitch… that's my Naruto-kun."_

" _ **YES! YOU FINALLY ADMITTED."**_ Inner said happily

" _I won't lose…"_

" _ **GAME ON, BITCH."**_

* * *

Teams 7 and 10, were quickly reaching their goal. Everyone seemed happy, everyone but Sakura. Don't be mistaken, she was happy to leave the famed Forest of Death alive. What made her angry was the sight in front of her. Karin, "twisted her ankle" in a very opportune manner, and was now being carried by Naruto in a bridal carry. She saw the girl resting on his chest and Karin even stuck her tongue out at her, before once again cuddling at the blond.

Then things got complicated.

The Naruto clone that still carried Sasuke said that he was waking up. He put the Uchiha on the ground before dispelling. When the Uchiha woke up he was different. Black markings covered his skin, leaving a dark aura in the air.

"What happened?" he asked as he got up

"We were attacked, if it wasn't for Naruto here we would have died." Kiba explained

Naruto, once again, Naruto. Sasuke had enough, he needed to be the strongest, not a clan less orphan who didn't knew how it felt to have everything taken away by him.

"Uzumaki." Sasuke said in a cold tone "Fight me. Now."

"Uchiha." Naruto said matching Sasuke's tone "Like I said before, we will fight another time, right now you and Kiba need medical help."

"Fight me. Now." He repeated

"Once again, no."

Sasuke had enough and rushed towards Naruto, preparing a punch. The blond rested Karin on the ground, blocking the Uchiha strike.

"Fool. You're drawing unnecessary attention to us."

Sasuke answer was a kick directed to Naruto's face. The blond once again dodged.

"I guess I have no choice then."

" _I need to tire him out, if someone uses a jutsu here the enemy will be alerted to our presence."_

So Naruto kept stalling, avoiding all the hits and occasionally landing strikes at Sasuke's joints. The Uchiha, under the seal influence, had enough.

" _Katon: Gōkakyū no Jutsu (_ Fire Release: Great Fireball Technique _)"_

" _Shit I can't wall that one."_

" _Katon: Gōkakyū no Jutsu (_ Fire Release: Great Fireball Technique _)"_ the blond said, using the power of his own jutsu to negate Sasuke's attack.

What he didn't expected is that Sasuke, with him improved speed because of the cursed seal, would appear right in his front, preparing a punch.

Naruto's eyes widened as he held his arms in a cross guard, preparing for the impact.

Suddenly Sasuke stopped dead in his tracks.

" _Kagemane no Jutsu_ (Shadow Imitation Technique) is a success." A lazy voice said from within a bush

"YOU…" Sasuke started to say, only to be knocked out by a chop at the back of his neck by Naruto.

"That was a close call… thanks Shikamaru." Naruto said as Team 8 left their hiding spot.

* * *

"So, Naruto, do you mind telling us why Sasuke attacked you?" Shikamaru asked bluntly

"That wasn't really Sasuke…" Naruto said sighing. "What I'm about to tell you now is a secret, if the wrong people know this can cause some problems for Sasuke. I need you to promise me on your honor as a shinobi that you can't tell anyone about this…"

As the rookies and Karin promised, Naruto leaned into a tree.

"You noticed the black markings on Sasuke skin right?" he asked getting nods from everyone. "This is called Cursed Seal, it was developed by the infamous Orochimaru, traitor of Konoha."

"WAIT. So the guy we fought at the Forest was Orochimaru?" Kiba asked incredulously.

"Yes."

"How can you be so sure it was really Orochimaru and not an agent?" Sakura asked concerned.

"About two or three months ago I ran into Orochimaru into a mission outside of Konoha." Naruto said, getting gasps from everyone. "So I got a feel of his chakra signature. Also yesterday he confirmed himself that he was indeed Orochimaru"

"How do you know about this cursed seal, did he tell you too?" Shikamaru asked

"No, one of the Sound shinobi told me, I also happened to fight some seal users before."

"Some? Sasuke wasn't the only one?" Sakura asked concerned

"No, according to the characteristics I already fought three Cursed seal users."

"The first one was Mizuki." He said getting gasps from the Konoha genin. "He used an incomplete version of the seal, that transformed him into a hybrid of man and tiger."

"Why you fought him?" Ino asked

"He was a spy for Orochimaru, actually capturing him was my first mission as a shinobi."

"How?" she demanded

"The Hokage got word of the possibility of a traitor working at the academy and possibly targeting a Forbidden Scroll at the Hokage vault. He assumed that he would recruit a failed student who wouldn't become genin."

"You were that student."

"Yes, Hokage-sama trusted me for this mission, so I purposefully botched my graduation exam to work with Mizuki."

"How you held yourself against a chunin?" Chōji asked curiously.

"His seal was incomplete and he underestimated me. I kept dodging his strikes until I he was breathless and then defeated him."

"You said that you fought three users. Who's the other one?" Shikamaru asked

"Kimimaro Kaguya…" seeing that nobody knew his name, Naruto gave a brief explanation. "He is the last survivor of the Kaguya Clan of Kiri. His kekkei genkai is called _Shikotsumyaku_ (Dead Bone Pulse) and allows him to create and control bones."

"And how you defeated him?" Kiba asked

Naruto chuckled dryly "I didn't. When I fought him I was completely outclassed, he barely needed to use the seal to defeat me. To be honest, if weren't for the Kazekage, Chōza Akimichi, Shikaku Nara and Inoichi Yamanaka I would probably be dead." He explained surprising Chōji, Shikamaru and Ino, who looked even more concerned about Naruto's safety.

"Naruto-kun we looked for you to warn you about Gaara." She said

"Why is that?"

"He wants to kill you."

Naruto sighed "He isn't the first, and, unless he succeeds, won't be the last."

"You idiot, you must think of your safety." Ino said almost yelled

"I think of my safety, and I promise you" he said locking gazes with his fellow blonde. "I'm not someone who goes down easy." He said causing Io to blush at his gaze and his confidence.

Ino drifted off as she thought about Naruto, she didn't know how long she kept staring at his face.

What brought her off her thoughts was when Sakura tackle hugged him to the ground, angering her, a lot.

"WHAT THE FUCK IS THIS?" she yelled

Shikamaru said nothing as he knew that things would get troublesome soon. Chōji however wasn't that sharp.

"You didn't listen? Naruto is going to give us and Team 7 scrolls so we can advance to the next phase."

"Oh…" she said, and then she glanced around, more alert to the surroundings. Naruto was still being tackle hugged by Sakura, whilst Hinata and the redheaded girl kept glaring at her rival. Then she noticed that Sakura was wearing Naruto's jacket, and then at Naruto's face. Some questions formed into her mind.

"Why you are hurt?" she said pointing to his face. "Who is her?" she asked pointing to Karin. "And most important of all: WHY FOREHEAD IS WEARING YOUR JACKET?" she finished with a yell

Naruto, managed to break free of Sakura's hug, much to the pinkette's protests.

"The girl is Karin, she's my… long lost relative maybe?" he asked getting a nod from the redhead.

" _And your future wife."_ She mentally added

"And for your other two questions. When we fought Orochimaru he managed to cut me, and Sakura gave me some first aid. And the reason why she's wearing my jacket is that we were swallowed by a giant snake."

* * *

"So in a single day you amassed four scrolls, fought a Sannin, was swallowed by a snake, exploded the same snake and fought a team made to kill Sasuke?" Shikamaru asked incredulously

"Yeah."

" _A girl also offered to have sex with me, but I guess I will keep this one to myself."_

"You're very troublesome."

"I know."

As the teams reached the tower, Naruto sighed.

" _I just hope things aren't more eventful than the second stage."_

* * *

 **Author's notes:** And it's done, my longest chapter so far, with 8500 words and 23 pages, excluding the Author's Notes and Q&A.

I decided to take a different approach on this chapter, adding more scenes outside of the Naruto core, I plan on giving the Rookie 9 more scree time as I felt I was overly focusing on Naruto.

I also wanted to explain the lateness of the update, I've had a busy week and I decided to take my time in writing instead of dumping low quality material just for the sake of updating sooner.

This was my favorite chapter so far, I just hope I didn't crossed the explicit line with Naruto and Kin's talk. Rest assured, next chapter will feature the start of the Third Stage of the Chunin Exams. Everyone guessed that Naruto was going to fight Gaara… and I'm sorry to tell that you were wrong. Gaara will fight Kiba, with Naruto fighting an opponent that has yet to be introduced.

About my comments about Samui last chapter, I can in fact make her younger, Yugito too as I don't think they look like being 29. But I still have some time to think about it.

* * *

Now, for the Q&A.

 **Q:** will you still include the fighting scene between the Sound Four and Sasuke?

 **A:** Probably yes, but I still hadn't given this part so much thought so I can't give you details

 **Q:** How about Sasuke deflecting arc? There will be jonin joining the fight?

 **A:** I will probably send a jonin to help Shikamaru and his team, but it's not certain yet.

 **Q:** Since Naruto and Ino had their date are they officially a couple or are they still in the feeling out their feelings for each other phase?

 **A:** Officially no, but in this chapter Naruto states that he likes Ino, even though he's confused about liking only her. And Ino drags her team with her to warn Naruto about Gaara.

 **Q:** Will Naruto start developing feelings for Karin before or after he restarts his feelings for Sakura?

 **A:** Right now, Naruto feels attracted towards Karin but he doesn't have the mental bond that he has with Ino or Sakura. It'll be developed rather quickly as they are the last of the Uzumakis, but only after the exams as Naruto will need to focus on his training.

 **Q:** Will the girls know about each other's feelings for Naruto and if they do will there be any hostility to one of another at the beginning?

 **A:** I guess most of this question is answered into this chapter, they will notice somethings, and will fight for his love, for now as I plan to make a sudden change after the finals.

 **Q:** Do you have a plan for Hinata's and Neji's fight or did you have a different plan for that?

 **A:** It'll be basically the same as canon, Hinata will be stronger as she was instructed by Naruto and Asuma in taijutsu but not enough to defeat Neji.

 **Q:** Will Naruto have a good impact on Gaara like in Cannon?

 **A:** Yes, I'd even dare say it'll be better one when compared to cannon.

 **Q:** Would You Consider The Salamanders As A Summoning Contract For Naruto?

 **A:** It's unlikely, I believe that the Salamanders Contract was probably destroyed by Nagato when he killed Hanzō, also I can't imagine Naruto effectively using poison in combat.

* * *

And I'm done, thanks for reading this chapter, I look forward to reading your reviews.


	14. Chunin Exams - Revelations

So many things to be said… but I don't think you'll want to read my ramblings right now, so please check the author's note at the end of the chapter.

* * *

After the Rookie Nine, minus Sasuke, who was still out cold due to Naruto's earlier strike, reached the tower they were informed that there were still two days left for teams at the forest of death to try to get the scrolls, so they were granted two days to rest. Naruto quickly excused himself, much to Ino and Sakura's dismay and asked Hayate, who was going to be thee proctor for the next stage, to call the Sandaime and Kakashi Hatake, as he needed to discuss important matters.

About half an hour later, he was escorted to a small, plain room where Kakashi and the Hokage waited for him. Naruto bowed to them both, and sensing the inquiring glances from the higher level shinobi he quickly explained.

"Orochimaru attacked Sasuke." He said, causing the Sandaime to frown and Kakashi's single eye to widen.

"Sasuke is just passed out, but he was branded with a seal…"

"The cursed seal." Hiruzen said firmly

"So you know…" Naruto said getting a nod from Hiruzen.

The blond then took a scroll from his holster and handled it to Hiruzen.

"This scroll contains the intel I have on the cursed seal."

The Hokage wordlessly took the scroll and gave it a quick look over.

"How you got this kind of information?"

"This brings the conversation to another important point. I have a subordinate from Orochimaru wishing to defect to Konoha."

The Sandaime's eyes widened, he then tossed the scroll Naruto gave him to Kakashi.

"Kakashi, I need you to try to contain the seal, speak with Anko for further information and use the scroll Naruto gave us too."

The jonin nodded, vanishing in a Shunshin.

"So, care to explain how you managed to convince a subordinate of Orochimaru to defect?"

Naruto spent the next hour explaining the fight with Kin and her team at the Forest of Death and how she agreed to provide information on Orochimaru should Konoha accepted her into the village.

"I can't guarantee anything before our interrogators speak with her and Inoichi scans her mind, but I will send a team to approach her after the third stage. If she indeed provides us with valuable information I can't see any reason to deny her request."

"Okay I also need to speak with you about a personal request."

"I've found another survivor of the Uzumaki Clan." Naruto said, surprising the Hokage.

"Her name is Karin Uzumaki and I would like to ask you to negotiate her integration to Konoha as she's currently a Kusa kunoichi."

The Sandaime frowned, this wasn't going to be a pleasant negotiation.

"Naruto, I can't just go around negotiating the integration of a kunoichi without any apparent reason, I know you're ecstatic that you've found family but…"

Much to Hiruzen's surprise, he was cut off by Naruto, who raised his voice tone.

"I know, but she's not there by choice."

"Still she's a Kusa kunoichi, we can't just go recruiting our allies personnel like that."

"But she's not there because she wanted damnit." Naruto said, raising his voice tone

"Karin and her mother only were able to get shelter in Kusa id Karin' mother worked at slave like conditions at the hospital, she died from overworking herself, if I don't do something Karin will die too."

"Naruto, I'm sorry but there's nothing Konoha can do…" Much to the aged Hokage's surprise he was once again cut off by Naruto.

"I'm not asking for Konoha's help. I'm asking for your help as Hokage."

Seeing the Hokage quizzical look he shrugged.

"I'm not an expert but I guess I know the basics of diplomatic protocol. I know Konoha can't just grab a kunoichi from Kusa and make theirs. But I'm asking for you to be oblivious of Karin's presence here. I plan on asking Asuma to host her in his apartment, and I'll instruct her to not use the Uzumaki surname."

"You plan sending a woman to live at Asuma's?"

"Yes, there's any problem?"

"A big one: Kurenai."

Naruto's eyes widened as he considered the outcomes of having Karin at the bearded jonin apartment, facing a jealous Kurenai.

"Not my best idea, I admit it."

The Sandaime sighed.

"Send her to my compound, I'll assign one of my personal ANBU to guard her."

Naruto then bowed.

"Thanks Hokage-sama. I also would like to ask for you to not inform anyone of her. When I tell anyone I mean the elder council and the civilian council… no scratch that, don't tell to anyone of the shinobi council too, they don't hate me but I fear they may start pestering into a arranged marriage… and I don't want to kill a clan head." Naruto said firmly, making sure to let the Hokage know that he was being serious in his last statement.

"Will do, send her to my place. However I'm sure we will have to meet again after the end of the exams to plan the next step to keep her in Konoha."

Naruto bowed again.

"Thanks, Hokage-sama."

As Naruto left, the Hokage turned into an apparently empty corner.

"What do you think of him, Jiraiya-kun?"

The once empty corner suddenly took the form of tall male, whose features where still shadowed.

"He's a perfect mix of Minato-kun and Kushina-chan…it's amazing." He said revealing a smile.

* * *

The atmosphere at the tower in the following days was rather hostile. The genins from the Rookie Nine, who previously traveled as a caravan of sorts, entered the tower to find another three teams waiting them:

The Sand Siblings: Kankurō, Temari and Gaara.

Team Guy: Neji Hyūga, Tenten Higarashi and Rock Lee.

The final team, composed by Konoha shinobi, was rather mysterious, nobody recalled seeing them during the first and second stages, a remarkable feat, considering the Rookie Nine had two elite genins in Naruto and Sasuke, a genius Shikamaru Nara and the Byakugan heiress Hinata Hyūga. Being able to progress through the exams without raising anyone's suspicions was really a statement to their stealth and organization.

The team members were all dressed in a similar black and grey jacket, with red stripes and black ANBU pants. All the components were male.

The first member seemed to be around the age of 16, he has long, shoulder length orange hair, styled in a ponytail and amber colored eyes.

The second one had extremely pale skin, and straight black hair and eyes. He seemed to be the youngest of the team as he was the shortest.

Finally the third member of the team was by far the weirdest, having a black mask covering almost his entire face, with exception of his mouth and nose.

They all seemed to be focusing on Naruto and Sasuke, who had a suppression seal placed on his neck, above the cursed seal; with exception of the third one, who looked at Shino intently.

Naruto silently noted all the strange behaviors, and decided to try his theory. He once again excused himself from the group he was talking to, namely the Rookie Nine, and once again received some protesting comments from Ino and Sakura, that hoped to spend some time with their newfound love/crush.

* * *

Five minutes later Naruto was sitting at the room assigned to him in the tower ready to execute his plan when he heard a knock on the door. When he opened the door he expected to see Ino, Shino, Hinata or Sakura, but to his surprise he saw the figure of Sasuke Uchiha.

"Uchiha-san? How may I help you?" Naruto asked with a tone of surprise

"May I enter?" the last Uchiha replied Naruto's questions with one of his own

Naruto shrugged for a moment, but complied. "Sure."

Sasuke quickly got in and locked the door.

Seeing the strange behavior pattern of the genin, Naruto frowned.

"I came here to apologize." Sasuke said, surprising Naruto.

" _A Uchiha apologizing? The end is near."_ Naruto mentally joked, before once again adopting a more serious stance

"It's about the seal right?" as the prodigy of Team 7 nodded, Naruto gave him a smile. "It's okay, I know about the behavior change, it wasn't like you were self-conscious when you attacked me."

" _Besides you were far from landing a hit on me." The blond mentally added._

An uncomfortable silence took place afterwards.

"I should get going." Sasuke said.

As the black haired Uchiha grabbed the door handle, Naruto sighed.

"Sasuke, I'm not your friend, but I'll give an advice from a Konoha Shinobi to another… Don't use the curse seal, the prospect of instant power is extremely appealing, but it's not truthful… If you rely on the seal power you would only be cheating yourself."

The Uchiha then released the handle, turned to Naruto, giving him an almost unnoticeable nod, before finally leaving the room.

" _I can't imagine how it feels to have your entire clan wiped out, by your brother nonetheless… Sasuke has been through a lot, I wish I could help him, but this is something he has to do alone…"_ the genin mused

* * *

Team Sai gathered at their shared room, unknown to them, they were being observed by a rat.

"Things have gone well so far. We managed to advance through the first and second stages easily, but our real mission starts now." The paler teen said in a monotone, emotionless tone.

"Both the Uzumaki and the Uchiha kids show a lot of confidence, it's a shame we didn't ran into them at the Forest of Death." The amber eyed added, in an equally emotionless tone.

"We need to eliminate Uzumaki and gather intel onto the Uchiha, so what do we do about the others?" the masked one asked, once again without any hint of emotion in his voice

"There will be a preliminary round, we need our entire team going through, to increase our chances of defeating Uzumaki, so if we face one of the clan heirs we'll defeat them without use of lethal force, Danzō-sama doesn't want any backlash by any of the clan heads , if we face a non-heir or a foreign shinobi, lethal force is permitted." The amber eyed, presumably the leader answered.

"If we face the Uchiha?" the pale asked

"Danzō-sama ordered us to gather info on him, but not eliminating him, our village needs a Uchiha, so if we face him we get a full scout of his abilities, but in the end we'll allow him to go through. " the leader responded, before turning to the masked man.

"Torune, don't let your brother get on your way, we are ROOT, emotions bring us close to fail, and failing is not an option."

Unknown to the group the rat suddenly disappeared in a boom of smoke that went unnoticed.

* * *

As the memories of the Kage Bunshin transformed into a rat came back to Naruto, his first reaction was to groan in pain by the amount of information passed by.

As he sat down on his bed, he took a minute to process the info he got.

" _Damn war hawk, I should've imagined that he wouldn't give up on recruiting me into ROOT just because I became a genin, the further I rise in the ranks the harder it'll be for him to get leverage to coerce me into joining his mindless army, hence why he's striking so soon. Anyway, I think I can beat any of those three in a fair fight, the thing is that they don't fight fair… so I must keep my head up, and intervene should they try anything funny with one of the non-heirs in the exam."_

Suddenly the last part of the dialogue came back to Naruto's mind.

" _Torune, don't let your brother get on your way, we are ROOT, emotions bring us close to fail, and failing is not an option."_

Naruto then gasped as he came to a conclusion.

" _Mask, covering his eyes, spiky black hair… he's Shino's brother."_

* * *

Shino stood still, making small talk with some of the members of the Rookie Nine, he didn't wanted to be there, after Naruto left, shortly after followed by Sasuke, and then the ROOT Team, the conversations became very irritating.

Ino and Sakura would constantly argue about their love life, although when Hinata asked whom they were talking about the girls would blush and look in another direction, without saying anything.

Team Nine had Lee's youthful antics and the arrogant smirk in the face of one Neji Hyūga. Tenten would be scolding Lee because of his behavior or sometimes trying to get Neji to open up more, she was failing in both attempts.

Shikamaru was lying on the ground, with Chōji by his side, eagerly eating a king sized sack of potato chips, making some annoying noises.

Hinata, sometimes would talk with Sakura or Ino, but also stood quietly.

Kiba would loudly boast by his abilities to anyone interested in hearing about, unfortunately for him nobody paid mind.

Finally the Suna team also stood quietly, but with an intimidating posture, that would send shivers down the spine of Team 8.

He could go back to his team shared room, but he didn't want to intrude at anything Naruto was doing. Working six months with the Uzumaki was a good experience for Shino. Naruto was far superior than him and Hinata, but didn't acted smugly as Sasuke and Neji, two of the other elite genins in the exams acted. Instead he would sometimes make time to help them both with their individual assignments. Shino knew that despite his individualistic/soloist nature, Naruto cared a lot about his team, sometimes opting to face a bigger danger alone than risking his teammates lives. As a shinobi, Shino would already rank him as top five of the Shinobi he saw in action, trailing after Asuma Sarutobi, his father: Shibi Aburame, his fellow clansman: Shikuro Aburame and his brother: Torune Aburame. The blond work ethic was legendary, first one in, last one out, he would always be on peak form, and as a twelve years old genin, he would show skills that would cause some of the jonin to turn green with envy.

Shino was a very observant person, and this didn't apply only to Kiba's sister ample rear. So he knew that when Naruto went "resting" he had another reasoning, maybe he didn't wanted to be dragged at Ino and Sakura's catfight, although it was unlikely; considering the nature of the books the blond would read during his free time, Naruto would actually jump at the prospect of seeing two hot girls fight with a considerable chance of having their clothes torn. So it was something else.

" _I wonder if I should ask him about this later…"_ he mused, only to be interrupted by shifting sensation of weight at one of his jacket's pockets.

He sneakily reached for the pocket, finding a folded piece of paper.

" _Come to the Team room, NOW."_

The Aburame quickly excused himself from the rest of the group, heading towards the before mentioned room.

* * *

As Shino entered the room, he saw Naruto sitting in a meditating position. After some seconds, Naruto opened his eyes.

"Sorry, wanted to make sure there were no eavesdroppers." The blond explained

Naruto then let his mask of cheerfulness and carefreeness drop, adopting a piercing serious gaze.

"Shino, do you trust me?"

"Yes."

"Utterly?"

"No."

"Why not?"

"We're shinobi, even when we trust people we must do so distrusting."

The blond then grinned

"Sage answer." He then got up, locking eyes with Shino, a difficult task considering the Aburame heir ever present sunglasses.

"I've noticed some strange behavior, sometimes when you're walking through a forest you must always look onto the ground you know? Sometimes you can end up tripping into a root." Naruto said, emphasizing the last word.

It took Shino some good five seconds to get the message.

"So you know…"

"Yes, and I know about your brother too."

"I see…"

"Shino, you're one of my most trusted comrades, hence why I'm proposing this to you: thirty minutes, you'll answer all the questions I have in those thirty minutes whilst I answer all questions you might have. I'm not threatening nor forcing you to accept my terms, so feel free to refuse…"

"I agree." Shino said, cutting him Naruto off.

"What do you know about ROOT?" the blond asked

"They're a special division of Konoha's ANBU, operating under Danzō Shimura, the conduct black ops missions for the village."

"And you believe that?"

"They in fact perform black ops missions, but they don't serve the village, they serve Danzō Shimura." Shino replied causing Naruto to smirk

"My turn." The Aburame said. "How do you know about ROOT and my brother?"

"I noticed their strange actions and their actions towards me and Sasuke, I also suspected because they weren't visible during the first two stages of the exams, meaning they managed to do well in hiding their presence. About your brother… one of the members mentioned a brother to him, since you have the most resemblance physically, I assumed you were the brother they were talking about. My turn once again: how did your brother ended up into the Root, as far as I know Clan Heads have the right to veto the entering of their close relatives into the Root, and I don't think your father seems like the kind of parent to allow a son of him to join the Root."

"He's not my biological brother , he has been adopted since his father passed away, so he didn't had the protection I had. Besides that Danzō foul played him into joining, threatening me and our clan should him refuse." Shino said, with a mixture of sadness and anger at his voice. "Now, why the sudden interest into the ROOT?"

"Those ROOT guys have been trying to make me join their ranks since I was five, luckily I always refused because I didn't trust them. They would also follow me sometimes when I went to training. Lately they seemed awfully quiet, after spying their conversation I learnt that they plan on defeating me, to prevent me from rising to chunin, what would make me even outer than their reach. So, Shino tell me about your brother background and abilities."

"Torune uses the Rinkaichū, an extremely rare variant of the Kikaichū. They're different because whilst Kikaichū drain chakra, Rinkaichū acts as a poisonous virus, attacking the target cells, it's one of the most feared techniques amongst the Aburame clan."

"There's an antidote for the poison?"

"Yes, but only Torune has it."

"In a scale of 1 to 10, how lethal are those Rinkaichū?"

"9."

"Any way to counter them?"

"Don't get caught, their dispersion rate is inferior to the Kikaichū, so it takes physical contact with them to infect you, so you'll need to fight using long range techniques and hope for the best."

Naruto inwardly groaned, he knew that his tolerance to poisonous substances was extremely high as he was submitted to contact with the Kyubi's chakra since he was born, although he knew that if he was caught by those insects he would be in trouble. Another thing that annoyed him was the lack of possibility to employ taijutsu and mid-range, his two favored weapons. Naruto's reflections were them interrupted by Shino's voice.

"My final question: why the ROOT is so keen on getting you as a recruit?"

The blond sighed, already accepting the decision he made early, but still hoping for the best.

"What I'm about to tell you is a S-Ranked secret… we both could be sentenced to death if word of this gets out of this room. Shino, have you ever noticed that I'm not the most liked person in the village."

"Yes, I sometimes see some civilians glaring at you, also some shinobi too."

"There's no way around it, so I'll be blunt: have you ever heard about a jinchūriki?"

"I remember hearing something about this at the academy, I think it has something to do with the tailed beasts, right?"

"Yes, jinchūriki are the human hosts of the tailed beasts."

"You're a jinchūriki." Shino concluded, getting a nod from Naruto

"Jinchūriki have always been poorly regarded as people would often confuse them with the tailed beast themselves. My case is even worse."

"Why?"

Naruto then sighed, making the nine symbol with his hands.

Shino gasped.

"You're the jinchūriki of the Kyubi."

* * *

And … it's done. I apologize for the cliffhanger though. Now to explain my long absence from this fic:

Life has been kind of a bitch lately, I've been constantly getting busy with college and some other stuff, hence why I'm having trouble in finding time to write fanfiction, for that I humbly apologize, I know that some people were expecting this update a lot earlier. I believe I stayed a little more than a month without updating this story, but I guarantee you that I'm not dropping this work anytime soon. However I expect some serious shit to happen within the upcoming months, so I can't give you any sort of date for the next release. Thankfully I've figured out most of the story flow by now, so I don't think I'll be facing writer's block anytime soon. Now for a long Q&A.

* * *

 **Q:** Why don't give Naruto some mythical being, like youkai or griffon or water dragon as a summon?

 **A:** To be honest I don't know how I would write scenes with those beings, I opted having the Hydra as a secondary summon because it would be something unique (although I must admit that I never read any fanfiction in which Naruto uses a Griffon) and would fit well at the interlude setting.

 **Q:** Will you make chunin promotion reasonable in this story?

 **A:** Yes, I guarantee you that he won't be a genin when the Invasion arc is over.

 **Q:** Will this contain lemons down the line?

 **A:** I plan to, but I don't know about the site policies about lemons, I mean, I've read some pretty hardcore stuff there but I don't know if it only stayed on the site because nobody reported or something. Now, if I am allowed to post lemons I'll surely try to do so, although I can't guarantee you that they will be present as I will only update them if I think it's good enough. Maybe I'll experiment writing some limes before I make my decision to include, or not include lemons in this story.

 **Q:** Kin will be used to revive the Shodaime and the Nidaime Hokage, if not; Orochimaru will only call one of them?

 **A:** Kin won't be used as sacrifice to the Edo Tensei, but Orochimaru will still revive the Senju brothers as he did in canon, only using different sacrifices.

 **Q:** Kin mentioned being friends with a cursed seal user, it's Tayuya? If so she'll try to convince her to defect to the Leaf too?

 **A:** The girl Kin mentioned is in fact Tayuya, and I'm not sure if I'll have her defecting or no, although I'm leaning towards the former instead of the latter.

 **Q:** Would Kushina approve of Karin?

 **A:** Certainly she would be ecstatic in having an Uzumaki as a daughter in law, although I don't think she'll be overjoyed in learning that Naruto will have more than one wife, I always imagined Kushina being a member of the anti-pervert club.

 **Q:** Why don't give Naruto the salamander contract as Jiraiya got the toad contract in canon (by reverse summoning himself at the Mt. Myōboku) ?

 **A:** It's a valid possibility, but I don't plan on doing so. Naruto will already have two summons, and using poison doesn't really fits his fighting style,, this fiction Naruto isn't settling for a regular hit when fighting, he often would deal restraining blows or use his chakra knives to slice some limb off, so there's no need for poison. I'm personally satisfied with Naruto's fighting style so far, so I don't want to possibly spoil it by adding another weapon in his repertoire.

 **Q:** Is Naruto really going to be in ANBU?

 **A:** He plans to, but things will change as the story progresses, but I can guarantee you that he'll take part in some black ops missions as a ANBU.

 **Q:** How much chapters do you plan?

 **A:** I don't know yet, I can see the story up to the end of the first part ranging from 120K to 150K words, but I can't be sure about the number of chapters as I sometimes would tend to releasing shorter chapters (like this one) so people would have something to read in the meantime.

 **Q:** Are you going to have someone from Shino's clan in the Harem?

 **A:** I don't think I will. I admit that having something like Shino's cousin or sister would be nice, but there's no know female members of the clan, and I don't like using OCs, much less giving them a major role in the story.

 **Q:** "Wirst du noch die Mission mit Koyuki Kazahana bringen?"

 **A:** A review from Germany! It makes me extremely happy to know my story is getting some recognition worldwide, I'd love to properly answer your question in German, but since my German is as broken as Brazil's defense during that fatidic day (soccer fans will be knowing) I took the liberty of using google translate : "Will you still bring the mission with Koyuki Kazahana?" It's unlikely, as the interlude, which would be the best stage to introduce her is already stuffed with content. But I may introduce her later.

 **Q:** You told that you didn't want Kin in the harem so I'm assuming this was just a one-sided thing on Kin's side?

 **A:** So far it's one sided. But I like to keep all the options, so there's still chance to add her. Even if I don't add her to the harem, she'll play a much bigger role in this story

 **Q:** I thought you had another Naruto fanfic you said so in the earlier chapters, I was planning to read it but I didn't find one on your profile. What happened to it?

 **A:** Due to my lack of time updating this fanfiction, and some conflicting ideas I've decided to stop working on this story, it's not definite but I don't plan on keeping a story that won't be updated in this site. There are two reasons why I stopped working on it: number one is that I felt like I would be making the two Narutos very similar so I feared ostracizing the growth of one story to benefit another; second reason is that I won't have time to work on another fic, so far I have some important projects in my personal life, and in this site as well, I'm currently working on three stories, this very fic, a Pokémon fanfic (by the way: if you're a Pokémon fan be sure to check Zero to Hero, my Pokémon fanfiction, Chapter 1 is up and I plan on updating Chapter 2 in this weekend, link is in my profile) and third story, outside of those two fandoms that I pan on revealing soon. Rest assured, don't worry the story only had a concept and a prologue, so you won't be missing much.

* * *

As an apology for the delayed releases I'll post the fights of the preliminaries, I no particular order:

Neji x Hinata

Sasuke x Yoroi

Kankurō x Misumi

Temari x Tenten

Gaara x Kiba

Sakura x Zaku

Shikamaru x Chōji

Lee x Dosu

Ino x Fū

Shino x Torune (by the way I'm pretty sure I'll have trouble writing this fight so any tips hints or ideas are very welcome)

Naruto x Sai

* * *

That's all for today, make sure to leave a review and if you're a Pokémon fan make sure to check Zero to Hero, link is in my profile. Next chapter will have the preliminaries, I'm not sure if I'll release it in a big chapter or a split one, also Naruto's parentage will be revealed shortly after.


End file.
